


A Smuggler's Dream

by Honey_Baby_Bee



Series: The Draé Legacy: When Light and Dark Collide [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: F/M, Family Dynamics, Force Bond (Star Wars), Gen, Mando'a, Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2018-10-26 10:53:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 61,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10785351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honey_Baby_Bee/pseuds/Honey_Baby_Bee
Summary: Being a Smuggler is thrilling; a life full of danger, breaking the law, and most importantly getting the credits. This is my story: from being an outlaw to... well you'll see...The story of Cheyanne Draé throughout her journey as a Smuggler. Is her ONLY her point of view from my series 'When Dark and Light Collide.'==========================1-8 | Prologue9 | Interlude10-17 | Chapter One18-24 | Chapter Two25-31 | Chapter Three32-33 | Ilum





	1. Smooth Landing

=-=-=-=-=-=

            _Great, just freaking great. Land a cargo ship, full of weapons, to Ord Mantell. I said, a piece of cake. Yeah, nope should have listened to Mom. Now I’m flying my ship through a warzone. A freaking WARZONE. I_ maneuver through some oncoming missiles, _Phew, barely missed that one_. Than so more, _okay that was close, a little to close, if I wasn’t a natural definitely would be wounded right now. Oh, thank the stars, I see where I’m landing. Oh crap, dang it, we’re going way to fast. Woah, another successful landing. Okay just breathe, no need for panic attacks here, nope no way._ Out of the corner of my eye, I see a man heading to my ship. _That must be Skavak. Yep I see the distinctive tattoo, don’t know what it’s meant to be but whatever. Stars, he looks better than he did in the holo._ _No. Stay focused, this is a drop and go. Okay drop and go, maybe I can convince him to with me. ‘Cheyanne, you are not going to do any such thing,’_ both my parents’ thoughts come through. It my panicked state I must have broadcasted my thoughts, oops _. ‘No worries,’_ I think, _‘not going to actually do it.’_ Being in a family of strong force-sensitives, has its downsides.

As I open the airlock, I see Skavak causally leaning on a pole right next to the ramp of my ship, with a smirk on his face has he checks me out. _Definitely hotter up close._ His hair is almost blackish brown and flows to the start of his shoulders and frames his vivid blue eyes. “That was some fantastic flying there, Captain. Though I’ll admit I’m surprised you landed,” he says smugly. I roll my eyes at him, he grins “Let me give you your payment and show you where you can wait while Cor and I unload.” He waits for me before going into the hanger. When we’re inside he hands me my credits and I ask, “So why all the shooting?”

“Just a much of Separatists wanting Mantell to leave the Republic.” Suddenly a man comes running through the door, “Ah, there you are Corso. The Captain and I were starting to worry,” Skavak says winking at me. “Sorry Skavak, but I just saw the Seps blow up a Walker, carrying Republic troops.” The man says trying to catch his breathe. He’s handsome with brown hair that almost reaches down his neck, with a couple of stands of hair in his face, captivating blue eyes, with a few scars on his forehead, nose and left cheekbone, adding a rugged look. “While then that’s my cue to leave,” I say bringing the attention of the men back to me, “if you’ll kindly unload my ship. By the way, I didn’t catch your name?” I ask the newcomer. “Oh, um Corso Riggs, ma’am,” he replies with his southern drawl. _He’s gentlemen and a looker, Skavak might have some competition._ “And there might be a problem with leaving, they’ve also taken over three anti-air towers.”

Skavak looks troubled and almost yells “Why didn’t you start with that?!” he shakes his head and looks at me, “Well Captain looks like you’ll have to destroy those towers.” I sigh, “Know of a fast way?” “Yeah, shoot them. I have no clue where they are though. Do you, Corso?” We both look at Corso, who has been strangely quiet, catching him appraising me. I smile when he visibly swallows. I may be seventeen, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a figure. After a while Skavak coughs, “Oh um yeah, just here in Drelliad Village,” Corso says after being caught, “Good luck, Captain.” As I’m heading out the door I hear a slap, _poor Corso_.

When I see the destroyed walker, I wander over to it. It seems that the door is jammed, I yell “Hello, anyone in there?” just loud enough for those possibly locked inside to hear with an added bang. I hear a responding bang and a muffled “Yes.”

“Oh, thank the Stars. Okay, hang on.” Finally, after some Force working and blaster shots, I manage to get the door off, with some help from those inside. I hear a soft surprised, “Cheyanne?” and look over to see a female Cathar trooper staring at me. Took me some time to recognize her, but sure enough there stood my best friend, Jessi with her pale tan fur, dark brown ears, her tan face darkening the closer you get to her electric blue eyes. “Oh my stars, Jessi!” I exclaim running to her for a hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ==========================  
> Hope ya'll enjoy it and sorry for any mistakes.  
> Positive feedback is greatly appreciated!


	2. Problems

=-=-=-=-=-=

            After I let go, I notice a man staring at us, “Oh sorry, you are?” He chuckles, “Lt. Kelos, you can call me Gearbox, I’m part of your friend’s new squad.” I see the Havoc Squad logo on his white armor, _she’s part of THE Havoc Squad now. Why didn’t she tell us!_ She notices my expression, “I tried to holo you.” I glance at her and see her slightly frowning, “Oh Jess, I’m so sorry! This ‘job’ has been sidetracking me.” She tilts her head to the side, “That was you, wasn’t it? Evading all those missiles!”

            “Yeah, it was. However, my ship and I are grounded until I destroy the Sep’s new anti-air towers,” I say with a sigh, “by the way the missiles that destroyed your walker came from there.” Gearbox pulls Jess aside, and after a minute or so, she heads back over to me, “Well guess I’m coming with you!” As we start walking to the village, a young Sergeant motioned for us to come over. He salutes Jess, “Sergeant Blyes, sir! The separatists inside are jamming our communications, and we’re in need of reinforcements.” I can feel Jess’ annoyance of being called sir, but she still politely responds, “Since I’m heading in there anyway, I’ll destroy those towers you just stay here and protect your men.” Blyes nods, “I’ll do what I can, sir!” As we walk away, Jess is lightly growling. I chuckle, “Don’t like being called sir, Jess?”

            “Yeah, just makes me feel like I’m not a woman anymore just because I wear a uniform and carry a big gun. I can’t even tell you how many men I’ve ‘scared away.’ Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever get to settle down and raise a family.” I shake my head and put my arm around her shoulder, “For one you’re still young and two if those ‘men’ were actual men they’d know how lucky they are to even get your attention.” She slightly smiles, “Thanks Chey, I’m glad I have you. You’re the only one I can be myself with.”

            A blaster shot whizzes by barely missing me, so I quickly roll to the nearest cover and opening fire. Jess is still standing and firing her Blaster Rifle, looking at her I can see why she’s part of Havoc, a pure look of determination and her delicate braids blowing it the wind. The separatists are either full of themselves or complete idiots, because they had everything out it the open and a grand total of four people protecting each thing. Within 10 minutes we destroyed all the missiles, jammers and towers. Just has we were leaving the towers control room my holo beeps, “Yes?” Corso appears “Captain, you there?” I groan, _why does this seem like more problems?_

            “We’ve got trouble at the hanger, separatists are trying to bust in. We’re giving them a warm welcome, but we could use a hand!” _Just lovely,_ I look at Jess who nods, silently saying I’m coming with. “We’ll be right there!” He raises an eyebrow when I said ‘we’ but otherwise makes no comment then without warning the call dies. Jess and I share an alarmed look and run to the hanger.

            When we get there, there’s about 10 separatists inside but no Corso or Skavak. I find the closest cover and nod to Jess then we both open fire. Within a minute the coast is clear. Worried, I go farther in the hanger and find an unconscious Corso. I motion to Jess, who on seeing him, “Wow, he’s attractive.” I nod in agreement and kneel down to wake him. When he comes to, I hear my ship’s engines roar to life. I run to the hanger doors, just to see my ship fly off, Corso comes up behind me, “It’s Skavak, he brought the Seps here then knocked me out, then apparently stole your ship and the blasters. Wait,” he starts patting himself trying to find something, “that son of a Hutt, stole ‘Torchy.’” Upon seeing my raised eyebrow, he clarifies “’Torchy’ is my BlasTech ALT-25 blaster pistol.” _Really why does such a handsome guy have to name his guns?_

            Corso’s holo beeps, “Oh, look who it is?” he answers it “Hello, Skavak, stole anything lately?!” Skavak appears chuckling, “Hey Cor, glad you’re still alive.” I slightly growl, “Skavak, you better land my ship now.” Skavak turns to face me, “Sorry Captain, no can do. Besides why should I be afraid of a little girl who’s never heard no?!” I tighten my fists to prevent me from hurting him, “The reason you should, Skavak, is because when I catch you I will make you wish you were dead.” He covers his heart, “I’ll believe it when I see it, Captain. Now good day, thank you for the ship, the blaster, and a full cargo bay.” And with that the call ends. _Oh great, how am I going to explain that I lost my ship._ Jess puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze. Corso looked wearily at Jess, “Corso, this is Sgt. Jessi Tae, my best friend.” Jessi grins, “Hi! Chey, I’m going check in with Gearbox,” leaving with a wink.

            “So, you’re friends with a trooper, interesting… If you want to find Skavak, you’ll want to talk to my boss, Viidu in Fort Garnik,” Corso says once he sees the door close after Jess, “I’ll let him know you are coming.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ==========================  
> Hope ya'll enjoy it and sorry for any mistakes.  
> Positive feedback is greatly appreciated!


	3. Meeting Viidu

=-=-=-=-=-=

            Leaving the hanger, I spot Jess so I run toward her, “So where you headed to next?” She faces me, “Meeting the rest of my squad in Fort Garnik, you?” I grin, “I’m going there too! I’m meeting Corso’s boss, who hopefully he’ll help me find Skavak,” growling slightly at the end. She chuckles “Well, come on then!” Along the way, Jess and I share recent stories of my misadventures and her missions. It made me realize just how much we’ve missed in each other’s lives and made me wonder what my sisters have been up too. On reaching Fort Garnik we nod farewell as we go our separate ways. The warehouse Viidu runs isn’t that far from where Jess was going.

            “Welcome, Captain! I’m Viidu. Corso told me we’ve had a rough day. How about a drink to wash away our worries?” handing me a glass of some sort of brandy, “Here’s a toast to my favorite things… the best collection of art works and exotic beverages in the whole system. And here’s to the stupid separatists who destroyed it all. Between them and that backstabber Skavak, I am thoroughly ruined!” he pauses as he downs a glass. “The blasters Skavak stole in your ship belonged to Rogun the Butcher. As employers go, he’s not the most forgiving.” I gulp, “Should I be terrified just because he calls himself ‘The Butcher’?” slightly afraid of the answer. “He’s killed enough people to fill a convoy of bulk freighters, and now we’ve crossed him.” Kriff, a convoy of bulk freighters!  He continues, “Rogun bought those blasters to protect his business from the separatists. When he finds out what’s happened, guess who dies first?” Trying to lighten the mood, “Skavak?” he chuckles “Nice one Captain, but no. That’s why we need to find that son of a Hutt! And to do that you need to talk to Reki, who’s an expert on separatists. Problem is he’s stuck behind a Republic blockade. Troops have his village surrounded while ‘contain’ the separatists there.”

            “Hold on right there, the separatists control a village?!” I exclaim. _Holy kriff, how long has this been going on for?_ “They have sympathizers in every village, helping them hold towns they take over. Traitors. I’m friendly with the Republic commander in charge of the blockade, he can get you in and out of Talloran, but first you need to prove you’re on our side.” _Lovely, more target practice,_ with my nod he continues, “I’ll pull together a survival kit. You smuggle it to Reki, and he’ll tell you a way to find Skavak.” I smirk, “Sounds like fun! See you in a bit, Viidu!”

            As I exit the warehouse, I see Jessi mumbling to herself. “What’s wrong, Jess?” as I speed walk towards her. She looks up at me, and I can feel her irritation, “Oh, just a Lieutenant who thinks just because I’m young and new to Havoc, I’m a rookie!” she ends with a growl. Seeing that she’s on a rant, I let her continue “He’s coordinating Havoc’s mission, and since I’m a Sergeant I have to follow his orders to the letter. Plus I have a camera on my armor so he sees everything once I’m outside the fort.” Even though she’s irritated with how he's treating her, I can tell that it’s because she respects him and wants to impress him. I give her a knowing look and when she stutters and blushes, I know I’m partly right. _She likes him! Oh, this will be fun!_ “So if you’re done fawning over your coordinating officer,” making a show of swooning to which Jess covers her face, “where are you off to next?” She peeks through her fingers, “Talloran Village.” I grin, “Same, guess we’re going to be permanent traveling buddies if this keeps up!”

            On our way to Talloran I freeze, Jess notices and turns around, silently asking what’s wrong? My eyes tear up as I recognize the new presence in our family force bond. Jess walks closer to me, and I whisper, “Allura! I feel Allura!” She gasps and covers her mouth. Tali is the first to say anything _'Stars, I’ve been so worried about you, and I can’t wait to give you the biggest hug!'_ Jaida’s next, _'Hey baby sister, glad we finally found you!'_ trying to be tough. I know I should say something but there are so many things to say I don’t know to begin, but with a reassuring arm of Jess and comforting thoughts from Jaida, I begin with _'Luna, I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you.'_ I start sobbing when I hear her voice trying to convey her love and forgiveness, _'There wasn’t anything you could have done, Chey or even you Jai. I’m just glad you’re alive.'_

            Mom hesitantly says _'Oh my baby, it’s you! It’s really you.'_ Then Dad _'My sweet ladybug, how much I’ve missed you.'_  Luna’s voice breaks, _'Mom! Dad! I love you so much! I’m sorry I stuck on your ship, daddy! I wanted to surprise you.'_ She stops her emotions getting the better of her, and we all send her our love. _'Oh sweetie, have you carried that around all this time?'_ Mom and Dad say together. _'We forgave you long ago, we just wanted you back safe and sound. And here you are, now focus on what’s ahead.'_

            Jess holds me to calm me, she pulls away slightly “You found her, so now it’s time to forgive yourself.” I wipe my tears and nod. She’s safe, now I need to focus on the job and getting my ship back. We didn’t stop all that far from the blockade, with a nod they let us inside. After a couple of brief fire fights, I can feel Thea’s anger, _'Did your Overseer do this?'_ Thea growls showing us Allura’s bruised face. _'If he ever does that again, tell me and I’ll show him what his hands are good for,'_ she darkly continues. _'She isn’t the only one,'_ Jai and I say together, then Dad, _'When I find who your Overseer is, he’ll know the full wrath of a Dark Council member and father.'_ Allura tries to soothe us, _'I’m fine. I’ve suffered worse.'_ Jess looks at me when I growl, I hold up a hand as Allura continues, _'I have my trials to complete. Besides it’s in the past anyway.'_ “I’ll tell you later,” she nods before replying “I have to do this alone, see you tomorrow?” I nod and go inside the only warehouse in the town, quickly finding Reki, he’s sitting in between two distraught women.

            “You’re certainly not a resident here, and you’re no separatist. You must be the hotshot freighter captain Viidu described over the holo. He failed to express how beautiful you are, though. Color me impressed.” I smile, considering him as the two women get up a walk away, “He definitely forgot to tell me you were handsome and charming.” He’s definitely attractive, young with short brown hair, a slight mustache, intense green eyes, and a fantastic body. He smirks, “It’s too bad you’re not staying longer Captain. I would love to get to know you better,” he ends with a wink. _I’m starting to like Ord Mantell more all the time._ “You never know how long it will take for me to get my ship back,” walking closer to him. He’s eyes darken “Well, I’ll help all I can,” pulling me on his lap.

            I straddle him, running my hands down his muscular chest while I lean in to him, whispering in his ear, “I’m told you’re the expert on separatists, and I happened to be searching for one.” He swallows, “I am, but what you’re looking for is a dangerous place.” I ghost his lips with mine, “I like dangerous.” His grip tightens, “I’ll have to teach you the code I used. It will take a long time and be extremely boring.” I kiss a path to his ear and whisper, “We’ll find something to entertain us.” He pulls me into a bruising kiss, then gripping my legs gets up and walks us into his empty bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ==========================  
> Hope ya'll enjoy it and sorry for any mistakes.  
> Positive feedback is greatly appreciated!


	4. Bluffs

=-=-=-=-=-=

            I wake up wrapped in Reki’s arms. I gingerly try to sit up without waking him to search for my bag I dropped when I walked in the safe house. Apparently, someone brought it in last night because I see it sitting by the door. Knowing I can’t get it without waking Reki, I use the Force to bring me it. As I search for my datapad to send a message to Jess, Jaida touches my mind, _'See Chey I tried!'_ sending me a picture of how she currently looks.

            I softly giggle, _'Sure you did…'_ I smile, preparing to tease her, _'Oh, look at this handsome man I woke up to!'_ sending an image of Reki. I laugh when she groans, _'Please, tell me you didn’t!'_ My sisters are all rather naïve when it comes to men and romance, however I know that they all have liked someone in their life. How I know this, well what else am I going to tease them about, I sent her snippets of my amazing night, giggling when she tries to close her eyes to prevent her from seeing in. _'I did not need to see or feel what you did! Who is this poor guy?'_ I smile looking down on him, _'His name is Reki. He’s from the planet I’m stranded on.'_ _Oh crap, I shouldn’t have said that! Hopefully she didn’t hear that right._ However she did, _'What do you mean stranded on? What happened to your ship!?'_ Grimacing I begin explaining really quickly hoping she won’t understand me, _'It got stolen by this really hot guy named Skavak! And now Rogun the Butcher wants to kill me because I lost his blasters!'_ she stops what she’s doing, apparently heading somewhere and hits her head, _'This all happened yesterday?! Why didn’t you tell us?'_ I swallow nervously, _'Well we just found Luna and I didn’t want to hear ‘I told you so’ from Mom and Dad.'_

            I can feel her apprehension with what she’s about to say, _'Well, I can’t say much, I got Braden and Jory killed yesterday.' What?! I lose ‘Lady Luck’ and the same day he’s killed!? Wait did she say it’s her fault?!_ Trying to reel in my guilt I ask her, _'How did you get them killed?'_ She’s not sure where to begin but she starts with, _'Do you remember hearing about Tarro Blood from Uncle Braden?'_ Confused now I answer honestly, _'Yes.'_ She swallows, fearing my reaction, _'He had his friend kill them to prevent me from entering the Great Hunt.' Stars! I thought my day was bad…! 'You aren’t responsible for this, that son of a Hutt is! And you’re still entering, right?!'_   She lightly chuckles,  _'Bal’ban 1.'_ Apparently I’ve been crying on Reki’s chest and woke him up, because he says “Babe, are you alright?” _Ut-oh 'He’s awake, I gotta go!'_ as he pulls me closer to him.

            I pull away to look at him, _stars he’s gorgeous._ “I just found out that my uncle was killed yesterday!” is all I’m able to say before I break into tears. He pulls me to his chest rubbing my back, trying to soothe me “I’m so sorry, beautiful.” I say to his chest, “He gave me his old ship, ‘Lady Luck,’ last year for my birthday. That’s the ship Skavak stole.” His grip tightens a bit with that, “Then I will do all I can to help you get him and your ship back,” before bringing me in for a heated kiss.

            A knock on the door interrupts the kiss. “What?” he grumpily asks. “If you are done entertaining, Viidu is getting worried about the Captain,” comes a muffled voice. Reki groans and detangles himself from me to put on his boxers, “Sorry Captain, duty calls.” I smile enjoying the view before pulling him in for a kiss, “Cheyanne please. And how about a shower first.” He smiles wickedly dropping his partially on boxers, to pick me up and carry me into his shower.

            When we exit the refresher, two sets of clothes on his newly remade bed, mine from yesterday, washed and folded, and an outfit that looks like my size laid out next to it, a tan vest, a soft green tanktop, blue jeans, and brown leather cowboy boot and belt. “Apparently one of the ladies took it upon herself to make sure you had another set of clothes,” Reki says as he walks toward his bed. He picks them up to look at them and a tear falls from his eye. I walk to him and gently wipe it away, “What’s wrong?” he looks at me deciding rather or not to tell me, “Apparently it was my mom because these are my sister’s.” Not knowing what to say I reach for mine but his hand stops me, “Please wear them, they’ll do her no use now.” I look up at him and nod. As I dress he stares at me, his green eyes following every curve, smiling when he sees his marks. As he goes to get dressed as well, I put my original clothes into my bag along with my datapad, then find a mirror to cover up any marks not hidden by fabric or my hair.

            Reki walks in behind me wrapping his arms around my waist, his eyes taking in my appearance, “You look amazing.” I smile and tilt my head to kiss him. “Thank you for everything… I wish I didn’t have to leave but…” he nods and finishes for me as he walks me out of the safe house, “But you have to get your ship back, I know. If you ever find yourself here again don’t hesitate to call.” All I’m able to do is nod before he pulls me in for a breathtaking kiss, “Goodbye, Captain.” The way out of Talloran is clear and I quickly walk back to Viidu’s warehouse.

            When I enter the warehouse, a young woman with short dark brown hair and green eyes stops me, “You must be the freighter captain Viidu’s expecting. It’s a pleasure to meet you in person. I’m Syreena.” I smile, “Nice to see another woman around here!” She chuckles, “Likewise. Not many women enter our line of work, my father got me into this. He flew tramp freighters, but I never developed a taste for space travel, myself. Too dangerous for me. I heard about what happened with Skavak. Can’t say I’m surprised. I told Viidu not to trust that scoundrel.” _Sounds like she has experience._ “Viidu’s putting on a brave face for me, but I can tell he’s terrified. Is it bad? Should I be worried?” _Wait she’s with Viidu, really?!_ “It depends on how soon we catch up to Skavak,” I say trying to reassure her, _and hopefully those blasters._ I’m pretty sure she understands when she says, “Thanks Captain. Sorry for keeping you from your appointment. Viidu’s waiting in his office. I know he’s eager to speak with you.” I nod then head up the stairs to his office.

            Entering I see Viidu sitting at the large ornate table “There you are, Captain! Corso and I were starting to worry about you! Come join us for breakfast, don’t let this fine food go to waste!” when he sees me enter, pausing from eating his Corellian hotcakes and nectar. Corso shakes his head chuckling at Viidu “Boss, quit acting like that’s your last meal. Rogun the Butcher isn’t gonna kill you.” I smile at him, “Good to see you again, Corso.” He looks over at me and smiles, “Likewise. Looking forward to working together, Captain.” I feel Corso’s eyes take in my change of clothing, as I sit by Viidu and a plate is put in front of me.

            Viidu pulls my attention back to him after we’ve finished eating as both of us stand, “Nice work in Talloran. We’re getting somewhere with this hunt for Skavak. Reki told me he gave you a way into the separatists’ hideout. Said something about a secret entrance?” Corso joins us, “Always wondered how Reki could steal so much from Mannett Point and not get caught.” Viidu rolls his eyes, “Getting onto Mannett Point will be extra tricky. For one thing, you have to swim there.” As soon as he finishes Corso cuts in, “When the separatists invaded, they blew up the only bridge leading onto the island. Turned it into their private resort.” Then Viidu finishes, “You’ll be walking into the rancor’s den, Captain.” I shrug, “With how my week is going so far, it won’t be the worst that’s happened.” Causing both of them to look at me but other than that ignore what I just said.

            “If you download the separatists’ computer files onto this and bring it back here, we’ll handle the rest,” Viidu says handing me a datapad. “I’d rather go with you, Captain. My vibroblade’s pretty good for chopping separatists off at the knees. I call it ‘Hewie.’” _So he names all his weapons, lovely._ Viidu says exasperated “Forget about the separatists, Corso. I want that slicer kit here before the captain comes back.” Corso chuckles, “I’m on it, boss. Good luck at Mannett Point, Captain.” I nod as he leaves, Viidu shakes his head, “Last thing I need is Corso turning ‘one man army’ out there. Kid will just get himself killed for nothing. Separatists wiped out his family a couple of years ago. Corso took it personal.”

            “How did Corso wind up working for you?” I ask suddenly intrigued. “He started as warehouse labor, but he took to fighting like a Firaxan shark to water.” Syreena says behind, “Viidu, there’s someone named Rogun calling on the holo. He sounds upset.” Viidu groans, “Oh, that’s all I need! Stall him for me, sweetheart.” He pauses as she leaves, “Remember the plan: disrupt Mannett Point’s power relays, get inside Reki’s old home and use those schematics to enter the separatist base. When you’re in, slice into the separatists’ computer and download everything onto my datapad. Good luck.” I smile reassuringly, “Don’t worry everything will work out!” I yell behind me as I leave.

            I see Jessi as I exit “Hey Jess, where to off to in such a hurry?” I yell causing her to stop abruptly and run to hug me. Alarmed I ask, “What’s wrong?” She looks down, “Hard past couple of days. I’m going to be working with Wraith in Mannett Point.” I raise my eyebrows questioningly, which she gives me her ‘later’ face. _Well, she’s worked up!_ “I’m heading there too, wanna tag along?” she smiles “Yeah, but I’ll have to meet Wraith alone.” I nod, “I have to do mine alone as well.” We put our arms around each other as we head to Mannett Point.

            After the uneventful journey to the island, I shrug out of my vest and boots to put them into my bag, then doing the same with other things that might way me down, Jess takes off her armor and does the same. With a little Force working I have our bags lightly float above us as we swim across, luckily the water never gets really deep. Jess rolls her eyes as I set them down and get a light warm breeze to dry us before we put everything back on. We easily sneak into the town, carefully avoiding anyone who could spot us as we knock out the power relays. I nod my head in parting when I see Reki’s house. Once inside, I go straight to where Reki said he left his datapad easily using his code to decrypt it then unlock the secret doorway.

            After wandering through the passages, I find the exit heading to the separatist base. Once outside I kill the back-entrance guards quickly so they don’t trigger any alarms then sneak to the computer terminals inside finding it easily and killing the two separatists in front of it then hastily plug in the datapad. I’m working on the terminal when a young man and a droid come out of one of the nearby rooms. “Come on, Foursen. Say it just like I taught you,” young man says who must be around my age. “The Republic lackeys will drown in lakes of fire and blood, master. Death to all who oppose the people’s will, master” the droid says in his emotionless voice. The boy sees me, “Hey there. We’ve had some trouble with the power relays, I need to check on the computer core. You mind?” then his droid says, “Master Gorry, I detect the presence of several non-functioning humans. Specifically, the bodies over there. Setting alert status red.”

            I pause what I’m doing to say, “By the stars! Republic troops have invaded our base!” _stars I hope that works!_ “Oh, no! Foursen, activate combat protocols! We’ve got to warn the others!” Gorry tells the droid who says “Master, my sensors detect no evidence of hostile forces.” I internally groan as I walk toward them and Gorry says “But that doesn’t make sense…” Hoping to prevent shooting him, “When was the last time you calibrated that droid’s sensors?” _Please work,_ I plead as Gorry says, “Not recently enough to take any chances. We need to put the base on alert and rally the men. Here, comrade. If you see any Republic lackeys, use this on them,” as he hands me something, “Let’s go, Foursen! There’s no time to waste!” Breathing a sigh of relief, I run as fast as I can to where Jess and I landed on. Seeing she isn’t here yet, I tentatively touch her mind reopening the old bond we had, _'W_ _here are you?'_ I can feel her shock as she sighs, _'_ _Go on without me, I’ll meet up with you at the fort!'_

            As I enter the warehouse I hear Syreena say, “Leave me alone, Bracco. If Viidu knew about this, he’d…” But she’s interrupted by a man’s voice, “Viidu? That blob can’t even protect himself. It’s only a matter of time before Rogun the Butcher punches your fat meal ticket for good. You’d better start thinking about the future, girl. When Viidu’s gone, you’ll need new friends.” As I get closer I see a Zabrak has trapped her between him and a shipping crate. I cough, “Well good thing she has me then!” As I lean against another crate, “You might want to watch yourself, word is that Rogun has his eye on her…” Syreena joins in, “That’s right Bracco. You don’t want to get on Rogun’s bad side.” Bracco swallows, “He’s already scoping out his trophies, huh? Figures. It just proves Viidu ain’t long for this world,” then he turns and leaves. I walk closer to her to whisper, “Are you alright?” She nods, “Yeah just frighten, and thank you. That was some quick thinking.”

            I smile, “Us girls, have to stick together. I’m just glad they brought it.” She shakes her head, “Bluff? It’s closer to the truth than I want to admit. What Bracco said was true—Rogun will kill Viidu if those blasters don’t turn up. I hope whatever you’re doing works out. More lives than yours depend on it.” I nod solemnly, “Don’t I know it. But everything will work out, trust me.” She smiles, “Hearing you say that, makes me believe it. I’ll be sure to keep out of harm’s way from now on.” I return her smile as I walk backwards toward the stairs, “Just remember if you do, give me a holo.”

            “Finally! I thought you’d never get back. Tell me you got those files!” Viidu exclaims when I enter the office. “Of course I do! I was just saving Syreena from some of your goons,” I state as I hand him the datapad. He groans, “Great, word must be getting out we’re in trouble. The warehouse boys smell the blood in the water.” Corso is standing next to him, “Want me to knuckle down on the staff, boss?” Viidu shakes his head, “Just keep an eye on them. If those idiots make another move against me, we’ll clean house. You did good, Captain. Corso found us a terrific little slicer kit, so we’re ready to decrypt that data.” I smile as he continues, “We’ll know where to find Skavak soon, but until then, I’ve got a special job that only you can do.” I sigh, “Let’s hear it, then.” Viidu grins, “We need to distract Rogun by giving him something he really wants—a canister of some special chemicals from a nearby village.”

            Corso looks at him surprised, “The ‘Big Boom Run?’ Are you kidding, boss? I can see it making Rogun’s day, but it’s blasted risky.” I smirk, “I like risky.” Corso gawks at me, “You don’t understand. Folks lose their arms and legs on this job. Heads, too.” Viidu sighs, “There’s a loopy scientist with a chemical that can supercharge artillery cannons-makes them do more damage.” Corso still tries to talk me out of it, “But it’s less stable than a drunk savrip on a speeder bike. Handle it wrong, and suddenly you are little chucks of ex-captain.” Viidu shrugs, “Sure it’s tricky, but you’ve got the skill to get it here. Did I mention this run pays unbelievably well?” _When in doubt tell a smuggler about how many credits it makes, works every time._ I smile, “Worth a shot,” _was going to do it anyway but whatever._ “Fantastic. I won’t even haggle down on your fee. That’s how much I respect you. Trymbo is the scientist’s name. Got a place in Oradam village, I’ll let him know you you’re coming.” Corso sighs, “See me before you make that run, Captain. We should talk,” he finishes before he leaves.

            I meet Corso in the front room of the warehouse, “Captain, the Big Boom Run isn’t a stroll on the beach. You’ll need an edge to make it back alive.” He pauses as he pulls out a blaster, “This here’s a SoroSuub SSK heavy blaster. It’s cut for a quick draw and got a hair trigger. I call it ’Flashy.’ Flashy’s the first blaster I ever owned. I want you to have it.” Touched, “Thank you, Corso. I’ll take good care of it,” finishing with a light kiss on his cheek as I grab the blaster. As I pull away I’m blushing, normally not being this forward without being flirted with first. I shyly smile, “I should get going then. See you later, Corso.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ==========================  
> Hope ya'll enjoy it and sorry for any mistakes.  
> Positive feedback is greatly appreciated!  
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  
> Mando'a  
> 1) bal'ban – definitely  
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


	5. Separatists and Jobs

=-=-=-=-=-=

            Heading out of Viidu's warehouse, I see Jessi looking down at a datapad. I slightly chuckle as she almost runs into someone, “Hey Jess, head in the clouds?” She stops immediately and looks up then around, shaking her head when she sees me, “I’m memorizing a list, genius.” I smirk as I walk towards her, “What’s it for?” She rolls her eyes, “My next assignment… where are you off too?” I shrug, “Oradam Village for a job, you?” She half smiles, “Same. Going together?” I smile, “Always.” Once outside the fort, Jess and I get two speeders then ride to the village only stopping right outside Trymbo’s house, where I get off and nod to Jess.

            “You must be here for my husband. I’m Loonda, I told master Viidu he’s gone out fishing. Would you like a sweet flat cake instead? It’s fresh,” a sweet older woman says as I enter. I smile, “Sure why not…” After I’m finished, she says “If you don’t feel like waiting for Trymbo, the walk out to him is lovely. The beach is so relaxing. He’s at his fishing camp. He’ll be thrilled to have some company. Now excuse me, dearie—these Rodian peppers won’t cook themselves!” I smile, “Thank you, I’ll do that. Have a nice day!” As I walk out Jess says, “About time you came back out here, Chey. I was about to go in there and get you!” I chuckle, “Sorry Jess, I have to head near the volcano now.” I get back on the speeder and we get on our way.

            Once we get there, Jess goes where she needs to and I head to the Fishing camp. “Don’t—don’t stand there. That spot is reserved exclusively for my gundark friends. And you are clearly not gundark. Your ears are too small. Listen, do you smell that? There’s a pot of Alderaanian stew bubbling. But how could I smell it all the way on Ord Mantell?” Trymbo says as I approach. I close my eyes but don’t say anything as he continues, “Hmm… I do recall a man saying to expect a stranger coming for my chemicals. You seem pretty strange. Was he talking about you?” I nod, “Yes, he was.” He continues, “Have you been diagnosed with a terminal illness? Are you trying to avoid marrying someone? There are better ways to kill yourself you know. People haven’t had much luck getting my chemicals. Know why? Those Ugnaught assassins in the woods attack everyone who visits me.” He pauses then says, “What you really need is a precision teleporter, but a former assistant crashed my prototype into the sun. Good luck, my friend. If you should explode, please feel free to come back and tell me all about it. Everyone else has,” after he finally hands me the chemicals. I feel bad for him has I walk away and back to the speeders. “Hey Cheyanne, I have to go back to the village. See you back at the fort?” Jess asks as she approaches from whatever she needed to do. I nod, “Yep, sounds good. See you in a bit, Jessi.” I get on my speeder then head back to the warehouse.

            Viidu meets me on the warehouse floor, “Easy does it. I’ve got a storage unit here to stabilize the canister so it doesn’t blow. There we go…” Once he has it, I breathe a silent sigh of relief, “That may have been the craziest thing I’ve ever done.” He chuckles, “I bet you’ll get a lot of free drinks at the cantina telling this tale. Getting these chemicals saved our necks, Captain. Rogun will be too busy selling them to think about the blasters. Go head up to my office, Corso is already there.” I nod and go upstairs. “Hey Corso, I didn’t blow up in millions of pieces of ex-captain…” I say with a smile as I walk in. He chuckles, “I’m going to thank Flashy for keeping you alive, Captain.” I roll my eyes, “Flashy didn’t do a thing,” just as Viidu and Syreena walk in. “I’ve got good news and great news, Captain. We cracked the separatist computer files and found Skavak,” Viidu starts. “Babe, you promised you wouldn’t get so excited. It isn’t good for your heart,” Syreena says worriedly. He sighs, “Sorry sweetheart. But this is going to be great. Skavak won’t even see us coming! Hah!” I crack a smile while shaking my head, “Where is he? And he better still have my ship!” Viidu smiles, “Your ship and the blasters. Great, huh? We’ll get back everything he stole all at once. Skavak is taking the blasters to the separatist base. Those wackos built their headquarters inside an old volcano. Crazy, huh?”

            “What do you expect from foaming-at-the-mouth murderers? I wish that volcano would blow its top,” Corso says. I sigh, “That would hurt innocent people too, Corso.” Viidu cuts in, “Skavak’s delivering the blasters to a psycho named Dareg at the base. You need to get there first. When he shows, ambush him, grab your ship and fly back here. Easy, huh?” I smile, “You’re about to see a real hero in action.” He grins, “Make that two heroes. I’m not sending you alone. Take Corso with you, Captain. He knows more about blasters and vibroblades than anybody I’ve met,” while slapping him on the back. “I owe Skavak payback for taking Torchy. That was lower than low,” Corso says trying to hide his surprise. I smile at him, “It’ll be nice to have some backup out there.” He half smiles, “Glad you think so.” Viidu rolls his eyes, “Then it’s a deal. You two head for the separatist base, kill Dareg and ambush Skavak when he shows up. I got a bottle of Chandrilan brandy to open when you get back.” I chuckle, “Oh I’m definitely on board now.” Viidu chuckles, “I’d wish you two ‘good luck,’ but I don’t want to jinx anything. Just come back in one piece.” I nod and look to Corso, “Ready when you are, Captain.” I sigh then turn to leave.

            “Is your trooper friend gonna come with us?” Corso asks. “Honestly, I don’t know. Why?” I reply. He shrugs, “Just wondering. Don’t know if I can be at ease around her, with us technically breaking the Republic laws.” I sigh, “She’s basically my sister and she is more than the uniform she wears. Just give her a chance, Corso.” He nods right as Jess walks out with a worried expression. I anxiously run over to her, “What’s wrong?” She looks up and I can see her unease, “We’ve lost contact with my squad in a separatist base they have in a volcano.” I gasp, _no wonder she's acting this way._ Trying to be positive, I say “As luck would have it, we’re heading there too, so we’ll help.” Corso looks over at me as she swallows, “You will?” I nod and she hugs me, “Thank you! Come on we better hurry.”

            Thankfully we arrive at the volcano quickly and head inside the base. Corso whistles, “How in the blazes in the separatists afford this!?” Jessi says, “Jorgan was right, they must be getting Imperial help.” With the three of us, the separatists don’t even stand a chance and we quickly get to where Jess needs to go. We clear the room of all separatists before leaving Jessi in there alone. After a while she comes back out, “Almost done…” We climb higher into the base, removing any witnesses as we go, after three flights of stairs we finally reach where we all needed to go, and we separate with a nod. Corso and I head down the hall where Skavak is going to drop of the blasters. Once we’ve cleared the room we go to where Dareg and two others are, “You worthless criminal vermin. How dare you invade my fortress and murder my courageous brothers-in-arms?” I cross my arms, “I’m known for my daring. Now where’s my ship?!”

            “Now you’ll just be known as the idiot who came all the way here to die. You are guilty of crimes against the oppressed people of Ord Mantell. The sentence is death,” he says before the three of them start shooting. Thankfully with my fast reflexes, I’m able drop and roll to the nearest cover without being shot. The fire fight is brief, Dareg and other soldier fall before the last one surrenders. As we approach he throws away his blaster, “I surrender, I surrender! Please, I don’t want to die. I know why you’re here, and you’re wasting your time.” I quirk an eyebrow still holding the blaster to his head, “Oh really?”

“We were tipped off. We knew about you before you even walked in here.” I put away my blaster as he continues, “Dareg was stupid to fight you. He got everyone killed when he should’ve just told you the truth. Skavak showed up a few hours ago to deliver the guns, but it was all a trick. He pretended to be on our side so he could steal some rusty antique droid from Dareg.” My eyebrows knit together, “That doesn’t even make any sense.” He nods quickly, “I know! Skavak helped us out a lot. We thought he was one of us. The droid was ancient—practically useless—but Skavak grabbed it like some big treasure and blasted his way out. He left in your ship. I don’t know where, but I can guess who does. Skavak has a girl at Fort Garnik named Syreena.”

           “It can’t be her,” I exclaim. “It’s true! Dareg talked to her on the holo all the time with messages for Skavak. She was our main contact. It was Syreena who warned us you were coming. If you want to find out where Skavak went, Syreena’s the one who knows. Please, let me go. I have a family back on the mainland. Please,” the man, Morant, practically begs. “Separatist scum killed my family, and I promised myself I’d bury every last one of you,” Corso says as he walks closer to him while raising his blaster. Morant swallows, “I—I’ve only been here a few months. I didn’t kill anyone’s family. I only ever followed orders.” Corso remains firm as he emotionlessly says, “Then I order you to die.” I have to cut in, “Are you sure about this, Corso? He seems sincere.” He looks at me still holding the gun to Morant’s head, “Sincerity has nothing to do with it. Every one of these motherless scum deserves death. I can’t just let him go home and pretend like nothing ever happened!” I shake my head and move closer to them both, “Would your family want you executing people? Have you be exactly like the people who killed them?” Corso looks back at me “My family were farmers, not soldiers.” Morant shakenly says, “Please, I swear to you I’ll never serve a man like Dareg again. I’ll just go home and take care of my family.” Corso’s jaw tightens and he lowers the weapon, “Get out of here before I change my mind.” He breathes a sigh of relief “Thank you,” than he runs as fast as he can.

           “Come on, Captain. We need to have a little heart-to-heart with Syreena,” Corso says once Morant is gone. I nod, “Lead the way.” As we leave the hanger, we see Jessi limping out of the opposite hanger. When she nearly falls, I run over to her exclaiming “Oh stars, Jessi! Corso help me with her!” I didn’t even need to ask as he’s already right by my side, “What happened?” She shakes her head, “My squad is gone. I’m the only one left.” I close my eyes knowing that there is more to the story because she’s being way to calm. “Corso, can you get her by yourself?” just has he easily picks her up bridal style. I have to hold back a sigh, “Good then I’ll clear the way back to the speeders.” Once we get to them, Corso places her behind me then gets on her speeder thankfully we get to the fort in record time.

           “Chey, I need to go in alone. I’ll tell you what happened later, okay?” Jessi says as she gets off, I nod and hug her while whispering, “Be strong.” As she leaves Corso and I head to the warehouse. As we go up the stairs, I hear Syreena talking frantically to someone. As we get closer I hear Skavak say, “I can’t believe you fried Viidu, sweetheart. So what if he caught you talking to separatists?” I look at Corso whose jaw tightens as we hear her say, “He might have turned me into Rogun, I had to kill him. Besides, now we can finally be together.” Skavak makes a unbelieving sound, “Yeah… the thing is, my cargo hold is full and I’m busy with work. I’ll holo you sometime, though. I promise.” Syreena slightly growls, “What are you talking about? You promised to get me out of here. I’ve done everything for you, Skavak!” He scoffs, “You did it for the money, same as me. The only difference is you’re not actually getting paid.” He looks up and sees both of us, he smirks looking at me as he says, “I’ll see you around, darling.”

           “I’m not done with you yet, Skavak!” She exclaims as the call dies. I shake my head, “However I think he’s done with you, Syreena.” She jumps turning around, “Captain! Corso! When did you two get back?!” Corso answers shaking his head, “Enough to know you killed Viidu and were cheating on him with Skavak! I thought you had more sense than that, Syreena!” She sighs and drops her head, “I’m sorry, Corso. Skavak used me just like he did everyone else—that man could charm the armor off a Mandalorian. Rogun’s bounty hunters are on their way right now. We don’t want to be here when they arrive. I can help you find Skavak though.” I look at Corso, “Decision is yours.” He nods, “Tell us what you know.” She looks down, “Skavak took your ship and the guns to Coruscant. If you go now, he won’t know you’re coming for him. Here’s a couple of shuttle passes to Carrick Station leaving to Coruscant tomorrow morning. I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you, Captain, like you were to me.” I walk closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder, “Don’t worry us girls all do crazy and stupid things, when we think we’re in love. Get out of here, Syreena.”

           She looks up surprised, “You’re just going to let me go?” I nod, “Despite everything, you are someone I consider a friend and I don’t let my friends get hurt. But please do us both a favor and get over Skavak?!” She giggles at that, “I’ll do that, Captain. After I give him a nice punch.” I smile, “Give him one for each of us and of course Viidu.” She sobers up with that and starts crying, “Oh stars, I killed him! I killed one of the only people who actually cared about me! I can’t leave until I bury him.” Corso walks closer then wraps his arms around her I swallow, “I’ll just leave you two alone for a bit.” Then walk out to go sit in the front room of the warehouse until Corso walks in.

           “Thank you for sparing her, Captain,” Corso begins once he sees me. “She and Viidu were the closest thing I had to a family since…” he stops unable to finish the sentence, but tries his best to continue, “And I couldn’t have hurt a lady, I was raised to tip my hat and open doors for them. You probably think I’m some dumb farm boy, huh? Head full of old-fashioned ideas?” I smile, “More like a dying breed. My dad always treats my mom and us girls like that, but also taught us how to fend for ourselves, in case no one else would. So I’m glad there’s another gentleman around in the galaxy.” He gives me one of his half smiles and my heart flutters, “Glad you think so, Captain. It’s not healthy for us to stick around and we don’t know how long Skavak will stay on Coruscant, either. So let’s hop on the earliest shuttle tomorrow and catch him while we can.” I tilt my head, “We?” He smiles, “I’m not bailing on you now, Captain. Besides my Torchy still needs rescuing.” I smile, “Well then we better get started.”

           Jessi is waiting for us as we leave, talking to a tall tawny Cathar male or should I say trying too because as we get closer I just hear him growling. “Hey Jess, who is this?” I ask as she sees us. “This is Aric Jorgan. He was coordinating our ops and now has been transferred under my command.” I raise an eyebrow, since I know she said he was a Lieutenant earlier. “I was… um… promoted to Lieutenant since I am the last remaining member of Havoc and Jorgan here was… undeservingly demoted.” He looks up at her and she swallows. I grin at her flustered state, “Hi, it’s nice to meet you. I’m her best friend, Chey and this here is Corso Riggs.” He nods, “I saw you working with Tae during her ops. You do good work for a smuggler.” I grin, “Why thank you, I think!?” Jess rolls her eyes, “So where are you going now?” I swallow, “Coruscant, Skavak took my ship to Coruscant. We’re taking a shuttle to Carrick Station then leaving for there tomorrow.” Jessi grins, “So are we!” then the four of us head to the Spaceport.

           Before we can get on the shuttle, two men get off and step in front of us. “Now this is what I call service. We step off the shuttle, and the bounty we’re here to collect is already waiting. Perfect,” says the Kel Dor in his native language. “I’m sick of being cooped up on starships, Xo’ru. I want to run around and shoot things for a while,” the Mon Calamari complains to the other. “Easy, Kindin. Greetings, gentle-being Captain. We are here on behalf of Rogun the Butcher. It seems he’d like a word with you,” Xo’ru says. “You must be Rogun’s bounty hunters,” I say with a sigh, “but I’m a little busy trying to get back the guns and my ship so if you could just come back later, in would be greatly appreciated.” Xo’ru crosses his arms, “No can do, so don’t make this difficult. We get a substantial bonus if we being you in alive.” I stop a moment acting as if I’m considering it, “Oh sorry, don’t think that can fits in my calendar. Rain check?!” Xo’ru sighs, “You should have just surrendered.” Kindin cuts in, “But I’m glad you didn’t!” The resulting fire fight was rather short but it was four against two. Kindin felt first with blaster shots to his body from yours truly and a well-placed sniper shot to his head from Jorgan. Xo’ru took all four of us to take down but we finally manage and quickly get in the shuttle before it leaves. On the station, Corso is basically ecstatic. I look at him curiously, “This is the best feeling… A sky full of stars… a new planet waiting across the galaxy… It never gets old.” I nod chuckling as we sit at a table in the station’s cantina, “That it doesn’t, I wasn’t aware you ever left Ord Mantell.”

           “You know that much about me, Captain? It’s a rare woman who can meet a man and know his whole life just by talking. When I came back to Ord Mantell, I thought that was the end for me. Thanks for giving me a way off, Captain.” I give him a small smile, “Cheyanne, please.” When he tilts his head, I clarify, “Captain is cute and all but if we’re going to be working together as partners or whatever, Captain is a little formal and sounds like I’m above you.” He smirks, “But what if I want you above me, Captain” I swallow. “Miss Cheyanne?” Thankful l look up and see one of our family’s droids standing by our table “A7, what are you doing here?” A7 is a protocol droid but is also very handy in combat. “I’m sorry to interrupt, young mistress. But Mistress Alena would like to speak to you, Miss Jessi and both of the young men accompanying you when you land on Coruscant. She also wanted to let you know that Mistress Talia is arriving here tomorrow and will be joining you on planet.” I perk up, “She is?!” A7 nods, “She has officially finished training.” I smile, nodding, before returning to the reason A7 is here, “Where are meeting her?” Corso looks at me confused as A7 says, “Mistress Alena has business in the Senate Tower, but she will also be staying at the ‘The Sky Palace’, young mistress.” I nod “Thank you, A7. We’ll meet her in the Tower.” I look over at Corso who looks very puzzled before I can say anything Jessi and Jorgan walk up.

            “Was that A7 I just saw?” Jess exclaims, I nod chuckling, “Master Alena wants to meet with all of us tomorrow and Talia will be joining us on Coruscant.” Jess smiles, “Well it will be good to see them both.” I nod “Yes, it will be.” I slap the table as I get up, “I don’t know about you but I need sleep.” Jess nods, “Definitely after my day. Rooming together, Chey?” I smirk, “We did only get two rooms for four. So yes, in less you plan on bunking with Jorgan or Corso.” She blushes and I slightly giggle, causing her to lightly slap my arm. “Okay boys, I hope you two can get a long because I have some overdue teasing to do,” I brightly say making Jess groan. The four of us head up the elevator to the rooms then Corso and Jorgan walk us to our door, “Good night, Jorgan, Corso.” They both nod but Corso adds a half smile and a wink, _Oh stars help me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ==========================  
> Hope ya'll enjoy it and sorry for any mistakes.  
> Positive feedback is greatly appreciated!


	6. The Search Begins Again

=-=-=-=-=-=

            “So tell me what’s up,” I state once the door securely shuts. Jessi sighs then rolls up into a little ball on a bed, like she always does when she’s emotional so I can barely hear her say, “My entire squad defected to the Empire.” My eyes widen as I gasp “Stars, Jess! I’m so sorry. What you going to do now?” She moves her arms away, so I can see her jaw tighten as she darkly says, “Get them to come back or make sure they don’t harm the Republic.” I swallow and nod, deciding a subject change is necessary, “So Sergeant Jorgan’s pretty cute…” I smirk in victory when she blushes and stutters, “I… I have no idea what you’re talking about, Chey.” I scoff “Yeah, sure… and I’m a senator.” She snorts and starts giggling when I begin tickling her. “Fine, you win. Yes, he’s attractive… but I don’t think anything is going to happen between us,” she states, rather defeatedly at the end. I make an unbelieving face making her sigh, “He called me a rookie, Chey! Not to mention that my squad is the reason he got demoted or that I’m his CO now.” I roll my eyes “Oh, come on. Be positive here! Serving on the same squad will let you both get to know each other better. Then who knows he may fall obsessively in love with you, as Cathars do.” She smiles slightly before nodding, “I guess you’re right.” I frown slightly then tickle her again, “You guess I’m right!?”

            “Okay, okay I give. You’re right,” she exclaims I smirk in victory until she says, “So what about you and Corso?!” I blush and attempt to hide my face. She tilts her head before squealing, “You like him!? That’s adorable, Chey!” I groan, “There’s something about him that’s cute, that’s all. Not to mention that he’s a gentleman.” Jessi nods “Yeah,” then she looks at the chrono and gasps “Come on, we need to go to sleep!” I roll my eyes but get ready for bed anyway.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            Jessi’s singing wakes me up along with the scent of freshly brewed caf and my datapad beeping. Jessi’s in the refresher getting ready for the day as I get up and stretch seeing that Jessi as brilliantly made me a cup of caf, as she knows I’m not a morning person. After I start on my caf, I start to read the new message.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

If you’re reading this, Captain, it means my luck ran out and yours didn’t. This holonet message was set on a dead man’s switch, so Rogun the Butcher or the separatists must have finally ended my horrible week.

Sorry I couldn’t stick around to help you square things with Rogun, but Corso’s a loyal kid. You can trust him to watch your back.

You don’t owe me any favors, but I’d appreciate it if you looked after my girl Syreena. And I hope you kill Skavak in a truly painful way.

See you in the Void,

Viidu

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            Somewhat shocked I didn’t even realize that Jessi had come out of the refresher. She sings “Good Morning!” I jump, “Stars Jess! Don’t you know better than to scare me! You’re lucky I didn’t have my blaster handy!” She chuckles, “Sorry Chey, didn’t realize,” she sits down next to me, “Whatcha reading?” I look down, “A message from a dead friend.” She looks up at me sympathetically as I get up and go into the refresher to get ready for the day. After my shower, I exit the refresher dressed in my clothes I wore when I landed on Ord Mantell. “You okay, Chey?” Jess asks on the way down to the cantina. I nod, too emotional to trust my voice. The boys are already down and eating, Corso waves us over, “Good morning ladies,” Jessi politely smiles and I nod as we sit down.

            After we order, a pale yellowish green male Twi’lek dressed in a Republic uniform walks up. “Lieutenant Tae, I’m sorry to interrupt but I need to speak with you.” Jessi sighs but wordlessly gets up and follows him. I raise an eyebrow to Jorgan, who shrugs, “Probably something to do with being the new CO of Havoc.” I nod then ask, “You’re not mad at her, are you?” He quickly looks up at me and shakes his head, “Why do you ask?” I roll my eyes, “Because of how you were yesterday when we walked up.” He grimaces “No, I’m not mad at her. It’s not her fault.” I nod then slightly smile, “She’s something, isn’t she?” He looks at me questioningly and I sigh, “A perfect example of the ideal soldier, friend, and” I look at him as I say, “woman…” He chokes and his eyes widen as he slightly gasps, “I… I have… I have no idea what you’re talking about…” I smirk, “Sure… Well, I for one am glad she has you to watch out for her.” I flash him a smile then return to my newly arrived meal as Jess comes back and eats hers. I know better to ask her about it since to the military and Jorgan, I’m just a citizen of the Republic.

            After we’ve finished, I see Talia walk into the cantina. Considering she’s in her Jedi robes, which are meant to be unappealing, she looks amazing as always in a white sleeveless shirt, fitted tan pants and boots, and a light brown short sleeved cloak belted at her narrow waist. When she notices us, and begins to walk towards us, I get up and exclaim, “Tali!” and give her a long-awaited hug. “Hey Chey,” she chuckles as she returns the hug as Jess and the boys get up. “Hi Tali, long time no see,” Jessi says once the hug breaks. “Stars Jessi,” Talia exclaims before huging her as well, making Corso and Jorgan cough simultaneously. I begin with, “So we’re all going to Coruscant.” Then without thinking I say, “I’m going to find my ship.” I stop immediately, thankful that Jessi continues after me, “And I’m going because I’m now the CO of Havoc.” My hope that Tali missed my slip, vanishes when she frowns, “Congrats on the promotion Jess,” then turns to me, “Why do you need to find your ship?” _Kriff,_ I swallow than just as I’m about to answer Corso steps in front of me “Hey, leave her alone,” Tali raises an eyebrow at me. I groan, “Corso, it’s fine!” He raises his hands in mock surrender “Sorry, I just don’t know who she is and I don’t trust her especially if she talks to you like that, Captain.”

            “She is my sister and a Jedi Knight, Corso, so she can talk to me however she pleases,” I say a bit harsher than I meant before walking off. I walk to the combat training area where a large Twi’lek with the same markings as the one from earlier, stops me “Sorry to interrupt you, Miss. But are you Captain Zora Tán?” I nod a little shocked, he continues, “I’m Sammo Kob. Word is that you have some trouble with Rogun the Butcher. You might not be surprised to know you aren’t the only one in that predicament. People like us need to stick together. I’ve got a pal, Lefty. He’d love to meet you, maybe show you a few new tricks to help to stay alive while you’re on Rogun’s hit list.” I slightly smile as he points me to where I’m going already, “Thanks.” He nods, “Don’t mention it. When your worth more, dead than alive it pays to make friends.”

            Lefty happens to be a male Arcona smuggler, “You’re that freighter captain who stirred things up on Ord Mantell. I hear you’ve got Rogun after you. My condolences. If you want to stay alive and retire wealthy, you need special training. I’ll give you that. I can make you into a real Gunslinger. Why fire one gun when you could shoot two? They find the best cover in a firefight and stay there, doing damage. Of course, so people prefer to be a Scoundrel. Make a sneak attack with a scatter gun from up close. Once you start training, you’ll need to be stick with it. So choose carefully.” I smirk, “As fun as being a ‘Scoundrel’ sounds. I like the idea of shooting two blasters.” He nods and hands me a spare, “Then we should get started.” After a while he says, “You’re a natural. I don’t think there’s anything else I can teach you.” I nod, “Thank you,” and toss him a credit stick before ending back to the cantina. Talia stands when she sees me and gives me a hug while whispering, “I’m sorry.” When I pull away, “Are we all set to go? The first shuttle should be here now.” Corso awkwardly gets up, “All set.” I look to Jessi and Jorgan, “We’re good to go.” Then to Tali who smiles “I’m always ready.” I grin “Alright, let’s go.” The shuttle is waiting for us when we arrive and we hurry abroad.

            The ride is silent, as I don’t really feel like talking much. However, when we land I say, “So Master Alena wanted to speak with all of us.” Tali looks at me strangely as she asks, _'Why did you just call Mom that?'_ I tilt my head towards Corso and Jorgan. She rolls her eyes but nods “Okay, so we’ll have to check in with Customs then we can head to the Senate Building.” Then A7 walks up, “Apologies young Mistresses, but urgent matters have changed Mistress Alena’s plans to speak with all of you privately.” The silver protocol droid turns to Tali, “young Mistress Talia, you are urgently required. Something awful has happened and you are needed.” I sigh, _of course there is._ Tali nods “Of course, A7. Teeseven and I just need to go to Customs first.” A7 shakes his head “There is no need, I have already done so.” I silently laugh as she sighs, “Then lead the way. See you later.” We all nod before her and the adorable droid, T7, follow.

            “I’m sorry, Captain,” Corso says when we’ve walked away from Jessi and Jorgan. I sigh “Corso, please just call me Cheyanne or Chey.” He tilts his head then shakes it, “No can do, Captain. So you better get used to it.” I groan “Fine, then I’ll just have to call you Cowboy. How’s that?” He smirks, “Whatever you say, Captain.” I close my eyes and groan as we walk to the nearest customs terminal, where I use my given name, Cheyanne Zora Draé, minus my real last name Marr then enter Corso’s as he walks to a large window overlooking Coruscant. He whistles, “Everything on Coruscant is huge. You see those city towers as we flew in? How many people you figure live in those? Millions?” he exclaims as I join him. I smile shaking my head, “She’s seen better days though.” He nods, “I heard the Sith Empire hit this planet hard, even knocked the Jedi Temple off its pedestal.” I frown slightly at that, tempted to say something but Corso doesn't notice and continues on, “Wanna find Skavak before we’re too old to shoot straight? We’re gonna need local help.” I sigh, figuring he has a plan, “Got someone particular in mind?” He smirks and nods, “I happen to know the perfect guy. There’s a gambler named Darmas Pollaran who keeps tabs on everything worth knowing about Coruscant. Good man. You’ll like him.” I smile slightly, “Worth a shot. Where would one find this Darmas?” He smiles, “Viidu always said if you look for a sabaac table surrounded by beautiful women, you’ll find Darmas, but I can narrow that down. I still have Viidu’s holofrequency contacts, and Darmas is one of them. Just me a second, and we’ll talk to the man himself…” as he pulls out a holo. After a few seconds, a man with blond hair appears “Corso, is that you? It’s been too long, you rascal. What brings you to Coruscant?”

            “A friend and I are in a real bind. Is there a place we can meet you?” Corso states. “Of course. Come to my private cantina booth. I’m here now, winning my tenth hand of sabacc against a very persistent Rodian,” He turns to face me, “Hope you don’t mind the occasional blaster fire; the cantina’s in a rowdy part of Coruscant.” I sigh, “I just came from a war zone. I’m used to blaster fire.” He nods, “Had a feeling you were more than a tourist.” Corso cuts in, “Keep your comlink channel open, Darmas. I’ve got some bad news about Viidu.” He nods then he disappears as Jessi and Jorgan walk up and together we head outside, with the Senate Tower in front of us. Jess motions to it as she says, “So we’re going in there and you’re going…?” I look at the data Darmas sent and groan, “To Old Galactic Market.” Jessi grimaces, “Be careful out there.” I nod, “Good luck to you both.” Corso looks at me as they walk away, “Is there something wrong with that area?” I sigh, “You’ll see.” He nods, “I’ll bring Darmas up to speed while we travel, Captain.”

            We take a city speeder to Old Galactic Market taxi terminal then head down the ramp to the concourse where the Dealer’s Den cantina is. We enter and a lavender female Twi’lek stops us, “Can I help you with something?” Corso’s eyes widen as he notices her and her dancers outfit, “Um… yeah…” I roll my eyes, “Yes, we’re looking for Darmas Pollaran. I heard he has a private cantina booth but I don’t know which one.” She smiles “Oh, your friends with Darm!? I’ll take you right to him.” Then she leads us, and Corso can’t remove his eyes from her as she walks. I roll my eyes, _Men._ When we enter his private room, there are three women hanging over Darmas and on the Rodian’s side is only his bodyguard. Their game finishes when Darmas wins and the Rodian just gets up and leaves. When Darmas sees us, he gets up and walks to the couches that’s in front of a large holo terminal then motions us over as the girls and dancer leave, with Corso’s eyes never leaving the dancer until she disappears. As I approach, Darmas rises and walks to me saying, “Forgive me for being so forward, but you’re more radiant than a Tatoonie sunset,” I blush as he grabs my hand and kisses it, “Darmas Pollaran, at your service.” I smile “Zora Tán, and I bet you say that to all the girls.” He shakes his head “Nonsense, my dear. I can’t remember the last time this dark cantina seemed so bright and lovely,” he ends with a wink and I can’t help but blush. “Give it up, old man. She’s not your type,” Corso says coming back to his senses since the dancer left.

            “Ah, Corso. Good to see you in person,” Darmas says as he grasps Corso’s upper arm then turns back to me, “Sorry to hear about Viidu. He was a man of refined tastes and a terrible card player. I’ll truly miss him. Life is like sabacc. The trick is to quit while you’re ahead and enjoy your winnings—exactly how I’ll spend my twilight years.” He gives me a wink as he sits down. I give him a shy smile, “I can’t imagine a handsome man like you living as a hermit.” Corso groans as Darmas grins, “Perish the thought. I simply have to convince the right woman to come with me. If you have any recommendations, let me know.” I lean on the holo terminal “Oh, I think I have one in mind,” Darmas smiles and winks before clearing his throat and standing, “Now, I know this isn’t a social call. Corso says you have troubles and I’m prepared to help.” I nod, “I have the feeling I’ll need all the help you can offer,” winking at the end. Darmas smirks and walks next to me to lean against the terminal as well “Good… Skavak is well known in the galactic underworld. He’s earned death sentences across the galaxy for everything from armed robbery to kidnapping. He’s known to be in the Sith Empire’s pocket, and he even cheats at cards. I’m only happy to help,” he ends with wink. I sigh, slightly shaking my head, “If there’s one thing I hate, it’s a card cheat.” Darmas smiles and runs a hand down my arm out of Corso’s sight “Oh, my… beauty, intelligence and fine moral values—what’s not to like about that combination?” I smile up at him and lightly bump into with my side as he continues, “Soon as Corso mentioned Skavak’s name, I alerted all my best informants. I’m getting some interesting leads.”

            “What did I tell you, Captain? Darmas can find out anything. We’ll have Skavak in no time.” Corso says staring at Darmas who hasn’t moved from my side. I smirk, “So it seems,” I look up at him as I say, “I just wonder if that’s the only talent he has.” He smirks his hazel brown eyes memorizing my face but stopping to stare at my lips, “I have many talents, beautiful,” then he looks at Corso as his hand caresses my back, “Skavak recently used the services of a data slicer named Kixi in the Migrant Merchants’ Guild headquarters,” he looks back at me, “Quite talented, I hear.” I sigh, “I’ll say this; the man has a way with women.” He lightly shakes his head, “I don’t think it’s a romantic relationship. Skavak doesn’t cavort with aliens—even near-humans like Kixi. Though she might be able to help you flush Skavak out of hiding. Be careful, though—the guild is well armed and doesn’t like outsiders. Now excuse me, darling, but there’s a Chagrian with more credits than sense. I really shouldn’t let him leave with all his money.” I sigh, slightly disappointed, “Well, then how about…” I pause as I go on my tippy toes to kiss him which he heatedly returns before I pull away, “a kiss for good luck.” He smirks than pulls me in for another until Corso coughs. I look over at him and he’s staring darky at Darmas “Come on, Corso, let’s find us a slicer.” He looks away briefly to nod at me then stares at Darmas until I’m out of the room then he follows.

            “Okay, what happened?” Tali asks as soon as she sees us come out of the cantina. Corso looks at me, and I can feel his irritation, “Are you going to tell her or should I?” I scoff then turn to the others, “We have to go to the Migrant Merchants Guild headquarters and by the looks of it so are you four, mind if we tag along?” Tali chuckles, “Of course not.” I can tell she isn’t going to drop it so when Jessi and Jorgan have to go check in with someone, I’m ready when she reaches through the bond. _'What happened?'_ She asks. I still groan, _'Cowboy over here doesn’t like a girl flirting with men who aren’t him.'_ She closes her eyes as Jess and Jorgan return, _'Oh sis… why did you?'_ I smile remembering, _'The man started it! He’s attractive and well you know me… He flirted with me, I flirted back, Cowboy got upset then I got the idea to continue flirting to irritate him.'_ She sighs as we begin to head into the Guild’s territory, _'_ _Am I going to meet this said man?'_ Slightly shocked I say, _'If you want too. But be warned he’s apparently a ladies man.'_ She chuckles, _'Aren’t they always, sis?'_ I slightly growl, thankfully not audible _'No, they are not, thank you very much! Just attractive.'_ She nods as we begin to cross a narrow bridge and rolls her eyes, _'_ _Whatever you say, little sister.'_   We clear a path together until we reach where Corso and I have to split off. When we get there I groan “Great, we need a clearance pass to get in there.” Corso chuckles, “Don’t worry, there’s bound to be somebody around here with a clearance pass. You ready for some more action, Captain?” I turn to him and drop my head to his chest then sigh, “I suppose.”

            We find one above the computer lab after killing about a dozen gang members. In my haste I almost walk right of the platform we’re on. Just as I’m about to fall Corso's arms wrap around my waist, “Careful now, Captain, that’s a long drop.” I nod, “Yeah, um, thanks Corso.” He chuckles and pulls me to his chest, “No worries, Captain, I’m here for you no matter what.” I close my eyes and try to walk away but his arms tighten, “Corso, you can let me go now.” I look up at him and see he isn’t even looking at me. I follow his eyes and lightly gasp, “We should probably move now,” as there is a large group of gang members walking our way. We both drop the floor and roll to the nearest hiding spot, where I keep an eye on the group thankful I had the forethought to remove the bodies of those we killed as they walk by. I nod when we’re clear, and we run quickly to the terminal where I put the pass into it. It beeps then raises the door and disables the alarms.

            I put a silencer on my blaster and kill every gang member inside with a shot to the head. We find Kixi pretty fast as she was trapped inside a force field which we disabled. “Been monitoring you on the security network. You sure know how to make an entrance,” Kixi says when we enter. “Guess we found our slicer—but why does this room look like a prison?” Corso states as he looks around. Kixi scoffs, “Because it is a prison. Thanks for noticing. Whatever issues your having with the guild, I’m on your side. I’m just a slave here,” the young dark green Mirialan says as she turns around. “Relax, we’re not here to hurt you.” I say, suddenly feeling protective of her as she looks around Allura’s age. “Then is there any chance you’re here to free me? Because I’m definitely ready to not be here,” she half exclaims, “The guild locked me up two years ago. Forced me to work for them. I’ll do anything to get out. What do you need?” I look to Corso, “We’re looking for a man named Skavak.” She smiles, “I knew that Corellian pig-lizard Skavak had ticked off the wrong person. No wonder he was in such a hurry. Skavak paid the guild to clean his identity record. They made me slice into the Republic’s main database and delete all his arrest warrants.” I grimace, “No wonder Skavak gets around so easily—nobody’s chasing him but me.” She shrugs, “He mentioned some Sullustan lawman giving him trouble. Sorry but that’s all I know about Skavak. Not sure how else to help you.”

            “How would you like a job offer to dirty up his record again?” I state crossly my arms. Kixi smiles, “You don’t even find to pay me. I saved copies of everything I erased from Skavak’s record. All I have to do now is transfer the data back… There easy. The minute he passes an identity checkpoint, it’ll trigger an alarm.”  I nod then smirk, getting an idea, “Make it so no woman in the galaxy will ever touch him again.” Kixi's eyes light up in amusement as she nods, “I’ll register him as a plague carrier. Give him a nice case of Bothan Nether Rot. That’ll keep the girls away.” I smile, “Good! Come on, we’ll escort you out.” _Mostly because I can’t bear to have something happen to her._ She grins and enthusiastically follows us out, with me in the front and Corso is covering our exit. We split ways at the entrance to the cantina. Corso goes and heads inside, as I stay out to talk to Kixi, “If you ever need anything don’t hesitant to call me, okay? You need someone out there looking out for you!” Kixi smiles as I hand her my information and few credit sticks, “Thank you, you’re my hero!” She gives me a hug before walking away, I smile slightly as I enter the cantina then Corso and I walk into Darmas’ private room.

            “An informant spotted you leaving the Migrant Merchants’ Guild. I trust Kixi was useful?” Darmas says as we enter. I nod “She did a real number on Skavak’s identity record.” He chuckles, “On a world this crowded with people and technology, he can’t hide for long. My sources reveal Skavak is doing business with the Black Sun gang. A dangerous friendship for all sorts of reasons. Black Sun is notorious for keeping holo-recordings of all their meetings. No doubt they’ve preserved the highlights of Skavak’s visit.” I tilt my head in thought, “I doubt Black Sun just lets anybody to peek at their holos.” He smiles, “Black Sun fragments its recordings over several computers to prevent unauthorized viewing. You’ll have to assemble the relevant footage by accessing each computer. But that’s a job for tomorrow…” I looked at him “Oh, and what am I going to do until then?” He smirks and stands from the couch to walk over to me “Well, why not spend some time with me.” He caresses my face as he almost whispers, “I’d love to get to know you better.” I look up at him and tilt my head, “I guess that couldn’t hurt… What did you have in mind?” He smiles and leans down so his mouth is by my ear. “You’ll just have to find out, darling,” he whispers then he lightly kisses me before pulling away, “Meet at the Senate tower?” I nod smiling as he continues, “Excellent, I’ll pick you up in around,” he looks at the chrono, “two hours. Sound good?”

            “Sounds perfect,” I say before kissing his cheek and leaving with a silent Corso. As we exit, we cross paths once again with my sister, Jessi and their companions. “Bout time you four finished!” I exclaim, “Cowboy and I almost have our next clue on finding Skavak.” Tali looks at Jessi, who shakes her head and whispers something that makes Tali groan. _'You mean to tell me that the guy you wanted to come with you on your ship, stole it?' Crap, she heard that too?_   I close my eyes, _'_ _Yes…'_ She sighs aloud “Come on guys, there’s a security breach I have to deal with.” I chuckle as we all head to the city speeders and return to the Senate tower where the four of them enter and Corso and I walk through the parks in front.

            “So you seem to know Coruscant pretty well, Captain,” Corso says as we begin walking around the Memorial Park for fallen Jedi. I nod “I should, this is basically a second home to me…” I stop as we walk to a statue dedicated to two Jedi Masters. Corso walks up to it and reads, “‘In memory of two of our greatest Jedi protectors, who died defending the innocent.’ Wow, they must have been pretty impressive to have their own statue dedicated to them…” He stops when he sees my tears, “Are you okay?” I shake my head walking to him, and he wraps his arms protectively around me. To wrapped up emotionally, I don’t even hear Jessi and Jorgan join us until Jess says “Oh Chey, why did you walk here?” I look up and she sighs motioning to me to come here which I do, and she tightly hugs me as she says to the boys, “Our ride will be here soon.” Just as she finishes, A7 approaches in one of our family’s speeders, “Good evening.” I smile at the droid as he gets out and helps Jessi and I in the speeder, then I look at the unmoving men, “Are you coming with or do you have another place to stay?” That spurs them into both getting into the speeder.

            They are both silent on the way to the ‘Sky Palace,’ so I look back and see them both looking around in awe. I chuckle then turn to Jessi, who looks very much like I did earlier by the statue. I gently nudge her making her look at me, “What’s wrong?” She sighs and looks back down, “We passed my grandfather’s memorial on the way to find you.” I close my eyes, “I’m sorry, Jess. I didn’t know we even passed it.” She chuckles sadly, “That’s because you didn’t. Jorgan wanted to see the memorial of the fallen soldiers, and, well of course, General Theodore Tae was among them.” I hug her as well I can, “Did he know?” She shakes her head then looks back at the Cathar, “I think he still doesn’t…” I nod understandingly as only Jessi and my family know why I started crying because of the statue. When we land on the entrance to our floating family estate, A7 helps us out of the speeder and escorts us inside where he turns to the men. “Welcome to the Sky Palace! If you both would follow me please, I will give you a tour and show you where you’ll be staying while you are here.” They look over at us and I make a shooing motion.

            “So why has Corso been irritated every time you leave that cantina?” Jessi asks once the men are out of sight. I slightly smile, “Because he has competition.” She looks at me slightly disappointed, “I thought you liked him!” I roll my eyes “No, I said that there’s something about him that’s attractive. Not that I like him. Besides he looks like he’s the settling down type, and I down plan on settling down for quite some time.” _If ever…_ I silently add. Jessi nods, “Guess that makes sense.” I smile, “Thank you for understanding. Now if you excuse me I have to go get ready for a date,” as I get up and run hurriedly to my bedroom on the second floor. I smile when I enter. _It hasn’t changed a bit,_ my grandfather helped me paint it the yellow it is now. I’ve never changed it because it was our favorite color. The furniture is different, more mature then it was, but still fits the room perfectly. I have a large window that allows me to see the beautiful Coruscant skyline. Along the walls are holo pictures of our family through the years, I stare at the picture of my grandparents, Nickolas and Araina Draé, the Jedi heroes of Coruscant, sighing disappointed in myself for crying at their memorial statue and go shower.

            After a while of trying things on, I hear a knock on my door, Talia’s knock. She enters and I exclaim “Oh, thank the stars it’s you! I need your help deciding what to wear!” She chuckles, “Of course you do…” I narrow my eyes slightly, “Come on and help me!” She rolls her but enters my closet then tosses a few dresses on the bed. I squeal and start putting on a slightly revealing midnight blue dress, “How can a Jedi have such fashion sense when she only wears robes?!” As I go the mirror, she goes to sit on my bed, “You know as well as I do that I don’t always wear robes. I just haven’t had an occasion to wear anything else with training and all that.” I smile and twirl a bit, “So we’ll have to change that after my ‘date’ tonight.” She raises an eyebrow, “You seem very excited about a ‘date’ with a guy you were flirting with to annoy Corso.” I sigh taking off the blue one and switching to a sexy red one, “It started off that way but there is something about him that draws me in.” I hear her chuckle “My little sister, the romantic. You know Corso isn’t happy about this right?” I scoff, “Cowboy can get annoyed all he wants but that isn’t going to stop me.” Just as my holo beeps, wondering who it could be, I run over to it and answer, “Reki!” He chuckles “Hey beautiful, sorry to surprise you though I’m not,” his eyes raking over me as he smirks. I smile, _'Can you leave, sis?'_ I see her roll her eyes and as she leaves, I ask, “Do you like the dress?” He nods, “I wish I was the lucky man you were wearing it for…”

            “What if I am,” I say with a wink before taking off the dress. He swallows “You torture me, babe.” I smirk as I start redressing in the midnight blue dress from earlier, “I try,” before laying on my tummy on my bed, he swallows. “So, um, I was calling because Syreena told me what happened. I just wanted to make sure you’re doing okay.” I smile, “I’m doing as well as I can at the moment. I’ll be better once I get my ship back.” He nods understandingly “Yeah,” he pauses, “I heard Corso is with you. Is he the reason you look so gorgeous?” I shake my head “No, Reki, this isn’t for him. There’s a man here on Coruscant who’s been helping us out, and he wants to get to know the Captain.” He nods “Ah, I see. Well, I’ll talk to you later, Captain.” Before the call ends, I say “Cheyanne, please Reki. I’m tired of Corso always calling me Captain. I’ll holo you later,” hopefully… and for some reason I’m tempt to say ‘I miss you’ but Reki smiles, “Have fun, Cheyanne,” he ends with a wink. I smile to myself then continue getting ready.

            After I’m done, I look around the house for Jessi, and find her with Jorgan and Corso, “Hey guys.” Corso looks up first and visibly swallows, as Jessi looks up and smiles “You look incredible, Chey!” I smile at her “Thanks, Jess. I thought this was safe.” Jessi chuckles, “On you nothing is safe.” I lightly hit her on the arm with a smile before turning and walking to find Talia, who I find in her room with someone I wasn’t expecting to see, “Hi Mom!” Mom turns, “Why don’t you look stunning!” I smile, “Thanks Mom,” as I go to her and give her a hug. “I have something for you as well but it’ll wait until morning, I guess,” Mom says as she starts to leave, “Goodnight girls. Don’t stay out to long Cheyanne, or your friend Corso might get upset,” she says with a wink walking out the door, I groan. _Why is everyone on this Corso business,_ just as Tali says, “She’s right you know,” which earns a glare before I leave the room. I head to the entry way where Corso is waiting, he’s shuffling and when he sees me walking down the stairs he scratches the back of his head nervously, “I was wanting to tell you earlier that you look amazing. And I hope you have a good time tonight.” I give him a smile “Thank you, Corso,” before walking outside to a waiting house droid, A2.

            We reach the Senate tower just as the sun starts setting and Darmas is already there waiting. He grins when he sees me and stops A2 from helping me out of the speeder, wanting to do it himself. “You look breathtaking,” he states with a smile, as he helps me off. I smile up at him, “Thank you and so do you,” and he is, in a simple well-tailored black suit with a white button up shirt with the first couple of buttons undone giving just a hint to the well-toned body that lays beneath. He shakes his head, “Thank you, darling, but compared to you,” he kisses my hand still looking at me, “I am nothing.” I blush and look away shyly, he gives me a half smile, “I mean that you know. Are you ready?” I look back at him and see that he still hasn’t removed his beautiful deep hazel eyes from me, I blush again before nodding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ==========================  
> Hope ya'll enjoy it and sorry for any mistakes.  
> Positive feedback is greatly appreciated!


	7. The Chase

 =-=-=-=-=-=

            Darmas takes us to a very classy restaurant near the Senate tower, called the Spire. He parks the speeder in front of the giant glass doors, getting out almost immediately to beat the escort droid from opening my door and helping me out then he escorts me inside. The inside is breathtaking; it has a massive crystal chandelier that reflects prefect rainbows on the chrome walls. There’s a dance floor directly underneath the chandelier and glass tables surrounding it with plush cushioned seats. The server smiles in greeting, “Your table is ready Mr. Pollaran.” I look up at him surprised and he flashes me a smile before leading us to our table where he pulls out my chair first. After we both sit down a menu appears on the table causing Darmas to say, “Trust me on this, okay?” I nod and he orders for us both.

            We make small talk until we’ve finished eating our main course, then Darmas rises and walks over to me with his hand out, “May I have this dance?” I’m about to say ‘there’s no music’ right as a band steps out on to the stage and begins playing. I look up at him and nod, “You may,” putting my hand in his then he leads us to the dance floor. He pulls me close, placing my right hand on his shoulder and keeping the other firmly in his hand while putting his left hand on the small of my back, then begins the dance never removing his eyes from mine. I’m rather breathless after the first song ends because of the spins and dips, but I can tell I’m not the only one as he pulls us back to the table where our dessert is already waiting, he motions for a waiter then whispers something to him and the droid puts the dessert into boxes then hands them to Darmas, who takes him with a sharp nod and leads us outside. He puts the boxes down then pulls me to him, kissing me heatedly before leaning his forehead on mine, “I’ve been wanting to do that all night.” I smile up at him and kiss him gently before pulling away, “So have I,” with a small smile.

            “This is normally when I’d ask if you want to go back to mine but I think I’ll do things a bit differently,” Darmas says as the speeder pulls up and the droid puts the boxes inside. He helps me inside then gets in himself and starts the speeder, taking us to yet another place. This time it’s Tranquility Park, one of the few places that has plant life. Darmas leads me to a secluded part and gets a blanket from his speeder sitting it down on the grass and places the dessert boxes on it before sitting down himself then smiles up at me. I roll my eyes, kicking off my heels and join him before leaning forward and kissing him passionately. He groans but pulls away, “You are going to be the death of me.” I smile and bat my eyes innocently, “Oh, what am I doing?” His eyes narrow at me but he says nothing putting a box on my lap, I smirk then open it trying to eat as seductively as I can, which is apparently working because Darmas’ eyes never leave me and I can see his eyes darkening. When we’re both finished he hurriedly picks them up and tosses them then captures my lips with his with such force he pushes us both down into the blanket.

            We lose sense of time as the kiss deepens and continues until he pulls away and we’re both panting, “I hope you can forgive me, but I don’t want to rush this…” I smile up at him as he’s still hovering over me, “Same,” before beginning him back in for another kiss. This time when we part he gets off of me and offers his hand to help me up which I gladly take then we pack up, throw away the garage and return to his speeder. I guild him to ‘Sky Palace’ where I can see Mom waiting in one of the front gardens meditating. When we land I motion him over to her, which he hesitantly does. “Darmas, this is Jedi Master Alena Draé,” I state once we get over to her. Mom rises, vaguely surprised I’m home before sunrise. Darmas’ eyes widen and he does a makeshift bow, “Darmas Pollaran, ma’am. Um… Master Jedi.” Mom chuckles her eyes lighting up, “Alena is fine for now. Now come inside, I’ll have A7 get us drinks.” Just as Darmas is about to decline Mom adds, “I insist.” Darmas swallows and nods once, Mom and I share an amused look.

            “So you’re helping Zora find her ship?” Mom asks once we are inside and seated. “Yes, I am. Though Skavak has been rather difficult to track down for her,” he says causing Mom’s eyes to flash and she turns to me rather disapprovingly. I sigh, “I know. You told me not to trust a man who’s called, ‘Jackal of the Stars,’ and I didn’t listen.” Mom nods once, “Then next time I guess you’ll listen to me? Hmmm?” then she shakes her head, “But… that’s not you…” she ends with a smile before looking back at Darmas, “She enjoys taking risks whether or not those turn into a mistake. Don’t make this one of them.” She rises then walks out. I look at Darmas questioningly but he just shrugs and says, “I'd better go now.” I sigh but nod, “I’ll walk you out,” rising to take his hand and walk with him to the front door. He smiles down at me before kissing me, “I had an amazing time tonight.” I return his smile, “I did too,” before tiptoeing up to kiss him. He returns the kiss before pulling away, “You’ll have your work cut out for you tomorrow. Black Sun controls an entire sector of Coruscant. They’re thugs with the most horrible manners,” he pauses as his expression becomes serious, “Please be careful.” I smirk, “I’m always careful.” His eyes narrow, “I don’t know you well, but I know enough that you’re lying.” I chuckle kissing him again, “I’ll be careful for you, Dar.” His eyes soften, “Good. I’ll hold you to that. Good luck,” then with one final kiss he leaves and I dreamily head up to my room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            I wake up surprisingly happy, to find a wrapped box on the trunk at the foot of my bed. I gingerly pick it up with the Force and set it in front of me. My eyes searching for any clue on what it is, then when I find none, I carefully unwrap it. Once all wrapping paper is removed, I open the box, revealing two identical blasters, I gasp recognizing them. They’re my grandmother’s blasters from before she was disowned. There’s two paper notes beside it. So I gently pick up the first…

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

This is to help you get out of those tight stops you always seem to get into. You are a lot like Braden, in that way but either way I’m proud of you, cyar’ika1.

P.S. Be careful with your new friend.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Confused, I move to the next message which I'm very careful with.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

My dearest Cheyanne,

If you are reading this, it means that means I am no longer around to give it to you, that I became one with the Force. I requested Alena to give this to you when she felt you needed them and me.

I want you to know that Gramp and I love you dearly and we are proud of you, always.

Love Grammy and Grampy

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

I silently let a tear fall as I hug the paper message to my chest, then setting it on my bedside table. I lay both blasters out with their holsters before going to get dressed then putting them on my belt so that they rest on both hips.

            I practically skip to the kitchen where I can smell breakfast. I can see and feel that Talia hasn’t removed her eyes from me as I sit next to her. So to add flame to the fire, I smile “Good morning!” then grab the butter and sugar in front of her. Tali groans “Please, tell me you didn’t?!” I internally smirk before looking up at her innocently, “I have no idea what you are talking about, my dear sister,” ending with a wink. “Oh, you know exactly what I’m talking about. So I’m asking, did you?” Now I smirk “No, I did not. I can be a morning person sometimes.” Both Jessi and Tali snort, Mom and I start giggling. “If you must know, I came home at a rather reasonable hour, thank you very much,” I state trying to stop my laughter. Mom nods, “And he seemed very nice.” Tali looks at us both, shocked “You met him?” She chuckles, “I did. I must say Cheyanne’s taste has greatly improved.” Tali looks over at me with an eyebrow raised, as I say “Yes, Ord Mantell did quite a number on me.” She sighs rolling her eyes, finally giving up, “So where is everyone heading?”

            “Jorgan and I have to go into the Black Suns territory…” a rather put out Jessi says. I smile, “Same here.” Then we look at the questioner, “Same.” I smile, then once we’re all finished eating, the guys ate like six plates stacked high with hotcakes, Jessi and Jorgan go upstairs to put on their armor as T7 joins the group. After they return, A7 drives us all down to the Black Sun Territory, where a feeling of dread seems to penetrate everything. There’s a man who’s apparently waiting for Talia. He is rather good looking. He has cybernetics around his left eye, styled dark brown hair with gorgeous hazel brown eyes. T7 beeps happily when he sees him and the man cautiously walks to us, I look over to Talia who’s giving him a reassuring smile “Hey Theron, this is my sister Cheyanne, and her business partner Corso Riggs. And…” the man, Theron finishes for her, “Lieutenant Jessica Tae and Sergeant Aric Jorgan of Havoc Squad. The two of you have been quite talked lately.” I narrow my eyes, looking at him and Talia, who’s acting a bit unusual, before remembering what Tali said yesterday about a security problem. So I flash him a smile, “It’s a pleasure meeting you, Theron. You’re helping Tali with her problem?” He chuckles, looking at her, “Trying too.” And I notice she blushes, _well this is different…_ Then when he says “Well, come on Tali,” she glares at him which causes him to chuckle. Jessi and I share a look, _what is going on here!_

            They both watch each other as we fight through the gang members, and I smile to myself as they seamlessly work together. Jessi and Jorgan are the first to leave to get further briefed on their mission when Theron speaks up, “So how did the two of you meet the C.O. of Havoc?” I’m the one who answers, “We grew up together actually.” Causing Talia to look at me curiously, as Theron nods staring at my sister until Havoc rejoins us. After dozens of fights, we finally reach the Republic Barricade where everyone follows Talia inside. After two brief fire fights inside, we finally find the soldiers and they escort us to the others. Havoc, Corso and I hang back as Talia, Theron and T7 walk up to the sergeant. I can feel, their vague irritation as the conservation continues until I feel a calmness that I know Talia is the heart of. We hear nothing until, Talia passionately says, “If you surrender now, your soldiers will have died in vain. Is that what you want? What about the man inside that base waiting to be rescued? You’d abandon him? This is a moment of truth, Sergeant. Do you give up and let evil win, or stand up and fight?” I smile, _that’s my sister._

            Apparently that convinces them, as they discuss a bit more than the three head back to us as the sergeant says, “Let’s double-time it, men! Move, move!” Once we’re out of the barricade, Talia leans against the wall instantly. Alarmed I go to her side, “Tali?” She looks at me as she softly replies, “Can you feel it?” I nod, “Yes! I’ve been trying to ignore it since we got here.” I want to add but it’s not effecting me that much, but I don’t instead, “You okay?” She nods, pulling away from the wall “Yeah, I just have a bad feeling about this.” T7 beeps nervously and hardly leaves her side, which I’m grateful for, as we remove the remaining gangsters and Theron shuts down the terminals.

            Once we reach Black Suns headquarters, Talia looks like death warmed over and Theron and I share a look, and I can tell he’s just as worried. Thankfully as we clear out the headquarters, I find the four holo-recording fragments we need and Jessi finds whatever she’s after. As we enter where Tali, Theron and T7 need to go Theron motions for us to follow after casting a nervous look at Talia. Jess and I share a look before motioning for the men to watch our backs then enter. As we do someone yells, “Tarnis! We risked everything for you. Stealing those data files, faking your kidnapping… this is how you repay us?” My eyes widen as Theron growls and Tali stares blankly at a wall. “You were compensated with enough weapons and armor to make Black Sun invincible,” a cold voice says, an involuntary shiver runs down my spine. The first man scoffs, “Invincible? There’s a Jedi carving up my base!” Jess and I chuckle at that as he continues, “This is your fault. We never should’ve trusted a Sith!” _A Sith, here!?_ My brain screams, the cold voice says, “If a Jedi has come for you, Salarr, it wasn’t my doing.”

            “I thought your kidnapping was a little to convenient,” Theron says as they approach, Jessi and I farther back, only there if they need us. The hologram Sith smirks, “I would have preferred a more graceful exit, but…” he pauses looking at Tali, “your Masters forced my hand. I have no time for this nonsense. Finish your pointless battle. Coruscant’s fate is already sealed,” then he disappears. As he was talking, Jessi and I manage to flank behind Salaar. After the call drops, I see a man holding a blaster to Tali’s head. Then just about as he’s about to shoot, a blaster shot pierces his body and he crumbles to the floor dead and three soldiers from the barricade appear as the sergeant says “Surrender, you scum! We’ve got you surrounded.” _Oh, we do,_ I think darkly. “Nice of you to join the party,” Tali states happily unaware of how close she was to death. “Wouldn’t miss it,” the Sergeant says before Salaar exclaims, “Kill them all!” He yells so loudly that Corso and Jorgan join in the fight.

            “Can’t believe it! We just took down Salaar. Black Sun won’t forget that anytime soon,” The Sergeant states after the brief fire fight, “We lost some good soldiers, but this victory gives their deaths meaning.” We go stand by Tali side as she says, “Your men fought bravely. You should be proud.” He nods, “Thanks for leading this mission. Black Sun will have reinforcements coming soon. Any sign of the man you came to rescue?” Just then the holo behind us beeps and we all turn to see Jedi by the looks of her appear, “There you are… we intercepted Salaar’s holocall to Tarnis. Can’t believe he’s a Sith!” Mom appears next to her, “But that’s not the worst news. The Planet Prison prototype here at the lab? A fake.” Beside me, Tali groans and I grimace, _that doesn’t sound good_ , as Mom continues, “Tarnis stole the real one.” On Tali’s other side Theron growls, “Have you traced that holocall?” The Jedi rolls her eyes, _I like her_ , “Already working on it.” I can see amusement on Mom’s face before it vanishes, “We need you both back at the Senate Tower. Alena and Kira out,” then they both disappear. “Sounds like your work is just starting,” the trooper says behind us, “We won’t hold you up. Goodbye, Jedi,” as he salutes her. “Talia, please. Draé, if you must. It was an honor to work with you, Sergeant,” she pauses looking at the two others, “and your men,” before we all exit.

            “You go on ahead, Tali,” I say once we’re outside the headquarters, not wanting her here any longer in her state. Jessi nods, “There’s still things we need to do but your mission is too important to wait.” She sighs but nods looking at Theron, who says, “Shall we?” And I can feel how he agrees with my unvoiced comment. Tali rolls her eyes but they leave together, and I smirk, “I’d hate to say it but it looks as if someone has a crush.” Jessi looks at me, “Which one?” I nod, “Exactly.” Jessi rolls her eyes, “Come on, we have work to do.” Corso and I manage to get to the holovault, easily and without drawing any unwanted attention, well that is until we enter. Corso and I share a look before I put on my silencers and we open fire clearing the way to where we’ll decrypt the recording. It takes a while for it to process, after I put the four fragments in the machine and start the program but finally an image appears, Skavak and a large male Cathar. “Well, well. The ‘Jackal of the Stars’ himself pays me a visit,” he begins crossing his arms. Beside me Corso’s eyes widen, “Who calls him that?” I chuckle silently, _everyone…_ but just shush him as the man continues, “Long time no see, Skavak. You must really need my help, huh?”

            “Urbax, buddy, you’re such a cynical guy. Can’t I just be paying an old friend a visit?” Skavak says trying to appear innocent. “You and ‘friends’ is the funniest thing I’ve heard all year. Get to the point before I stop laughing,” Urbax says clearly not laughing. “A lawman from the Outer Rim is sticking to me like a mynock on a power coupling. I need somebody to scrape him off.” I frown, _so Kixi was right about a lawman giving him a hard time._ “Lawman, huh? Sounds like that’ll cost double,” Urbax states. I smirk, _I like this guy. Well, I would if he wasn’t talking about killing someone._ “Whatever it takes. I’m in a rush to wrap up other business here. Besides, finding work for my friends makes me feel good,” Skavak states and I internally groan. _Why does he still have to sound so hot!?_ “Nice. So, where is this little parasite you want me to remove?” I growl at that. “He’s at a docking bay in the spaceport, and he’s alone. I’m sure he won’t give a burly scrapper like you much trouble,” Skavak finally says. “I guarantee he won’t,” Urbax says tightening his fist in front of him “Oh, and I’ll be wanting my payment in advance.”

            “Wouldn’t have it any other way, Urbax. You enjoy yourself,” Skavak says and the recording ends. “It might be this lawman knows how to find Skavak. We’d better try to save him,” Corso says from behind me, “Let’s go bust up that party at the spaceport, Captain.” I nod “I would help him regardless, Cowboy.” And with that we run out, heading back to where we’re were dropped off. We get a speeder to drop us off directing in front of the spaceport. We find the hanger easily because it’s the only one being guarded by gangsters.

            “This was fun, little mouse, but we’re done playing. Time to die,” Urbax says as we enter. I look at Corso whispering, “We got here just in time.” He nods as we hear someone speaking in Sullustese, “I am a designated officer of the Sullustan Constable Brigade. Drop your weapons and surrender, or I’ll be forced to discharge my weapon again.” Then Urdax says to someone, “I can’t figure out if this Sullustan’s deaf or just stupid.” I chuckle walking up behind him, “Do you see those ears? Sullustans have excellent hearing. He was just delaying for his backup to arrive.” Urbax turns toward his men growling, “I told you idiots to watch that door! Do I have to do everything myself?” then he faces us, “You don’t belong in here, little girlie. Better leave before you break a nail.” I roll my eyes unimpressed then smirk, “You see I’m exactly where I need to be, Urbax. You see that backup is me.” His eyes narrow as the Sullustan says, “Wait, upstanding citizen! Under Article 11607 of the emergency Service Laws, I hereby deputize you. These men are interfering in a criminal investigation.” I gasp, “I’m sure if we ask them real nicely, they’ll just leave.” Behind me Corso silently chuckles as the lawman continues, “I already encouraged these men to depart peacefully, but they failed to comply. It’s possible they don’t understand Sullustese.” I smirk looking at the obviously clueless Cathar and his men, “That or they're just stupid.” The Cathar growls and the fighting begins.

            I roll to the nearest cover and open fire killing the nearest gangsters easily but it takes all three of us to kill Urbax. “I am grateful for your assistance, deputy. I apologize for drafting you into service on short notice, but you performed admirably,” the Sullustan says after Urbax falls. “Sticking up for the little guy is what I do best,” I say with a smile. “I am considered tall for a Sullustan. My species averages one point five meters in height, but I have achieved one point six meters. I have not properly identified myself to you. I am Officer Miel Muwn of the Sullustan Constable Brigade.” I smile at him, “I’m just a simple starship captain trying to earn a living.” He nods, “Normally my reports require a full name and genetic record—but I suppose I can acknowledge you as an ‘unidentified innocent bystander.’ I have come to Coruscant pursuing a dangerous criminal named Skavak. He is wanted by the government of Sullust for high crimes. He stole a priceless relic called the Murustavan Ruby. My duty is to arrest him and retrieve it, even if I must act alone.” I slightly smirk, “I’m hunting Skavak, too. He stole my starship.”

            “Ah! I suspected your timely intervention here was not coincidence, upstanding citizen. This is good news,” Miel says slightly happily, “I propose we cooperate and share resources. Coruscant is large and… confusing. If I turn up any useful leads on Skavak’s whereabouts, I will contact you. Can I count on you to do the same?” I nod, “Of course, Miel. It’ll be the least I can do.” He nods once, “Your help with these lawbreakers was invaluable. I will contact the local security forces and file an appropriate report with them. Based on past experiences, local security will not ask many questions. I will continue my search for Skavak soon. I will not detain you further, upstanding citizen. Your time and assistance here is greatly appreciated. Good day,” and with that out new ally walks away. “Let us not be here when local security shows up. We don’t have time to answer questions,” Corso states once he is out of sight. I nod, rolling my eyes, “Let’s inform Darmas what we have so far.” As we make our way out of the busy spaceport, I holo Jessi. She answers quickly appearing rather irritated, “Not a good time, Chey.” I raise an eyebrow, “What’s wrong?” She frowns, “Have to smooth out some feathers. We’ll be a while.” I nod “Okay, take care.” She nods and the call ends.

            “What do you think that’s about?” Corso asks. I shrug, “Nothing citizens should know about, probably.” He nods grimly, “Probably.” I holo Talia next and she answers just as quickly, but is thankfully happier. “Where you off to next?” I ask as soon as she appears. She rolls her eyes, “Justicar territory, Chey. You?” I groan, “Have to go meet up with Darmas back at Dealer’s Den Cantina, and Jess says she going to be awhile.” Tali nods then turns to Kira, the girl from the holo earlier, “You want to make a small detour?” The red head tilts her head briefly before nodding, “Sure.”

            We wait by the city taxi speeders, and I sort of daze off until I see Talia and Kira appear. I give Talia a hug before turning to Kira, “I’m Cheyanne and this is Corso Riggs.” Kira returns the smile, “Padawan Kira Carsen.” I look at Tali, “Your Padawan?” It’s Kira who answers “Yes, I am.” _Tali is really moving up!_ Once a taxi speeder comes, we have it drop us to the front of the cantina. When we get inside, the Twi’lek dancer from yesterday greets us, and I’m surprised she hugs me and winks at Corso who blushs, before motioning us to Dar’s room. I nod then turn to the Jedi, “So Corso and I need to speak with Darmas about business first, then you’re joining us for lunch.” Tali rolls her eyes, “We’ll be out here then…” I grin and head inside to find two humans talking about me.

            “See? What did I tell you? It’s the captain from Rogun the Butcher’s bounty posting. Are we lucky or what?” the female red head says as she sees us enter. “I never doubted you for a second, lover. You’ve always been my luck star,” the man says looking down lovingly at her. “Ugh, you two make me sick. Hold it right there, Captain,” says a blond newcomer, I internally groan. “Is that a hairstyle, or did a womp rat die on your head?” I ask seriously, _can't believe I manage to say that with a straight face._ “Did you just… what… who do… shut up!” the blond man says, I internally smirk in triumph until he says, “Come on, you two. Let’s cremate this fool and get rich!” _Well, that obviously didn’t work about,_ “You kids run home to your mommas before I spank you.” The blonde’s eyes narrow “All right, that’s it. Let’s roast this stupid nerf-herder!”

            “Hold it, Scorch. There’s something about this captain. She might be more trouble than she’s worth,” says lover boy. “Not man enough for a real challenge? Don’t know what you see in this guy, Egara” the blonde, Scorch, exclaims. “More than you could ever show me,” the red head, Egara, says before looking at the other “Riloh, this bounty’s worth more money than we earn in a month.” He sighs, “Alright, lover—but stay behind me. I don’t want you getting hurt over a lousy stack of credits.” I groan, before getting another idea “Wait, who is this you’re looking for?” The three look at each other, “A smuggler that looks just like you, by the name of Zora Tán.” I widen my eyes, “I could see my life costing money, I mean I am the daughter of a Jedi, but you’ve got the wrong person.” They scoff so I continue, “My sister is right outside with her Padawan, and sure I bend rules a bit but having your family known as the Perfect Jedi, when you aren’t Force-sensitive could make anyone want to break out. But honest, my mom would die if I was this smuggler and as annoying as my family history is I won’t be the one to ruin it. Don’t believe me? Scan me,” Scorch rolls his eyes and Egara does exactly that. Her eyes widen as she reads aloud “Cheyanne Zora Draé, daughter of Jedi Master Alena Draé, and granddaughter of the Jedi Masters Nickolas and Araina Draé.” She stops at that, looking up, “We are so sorry. We’ll let you continue on.” The men both nod and the three of them walk out as fast as they can. Corso whistles, “Smooth talking there, Captain.” I shrug, “Sometimes bits of the truth work in your favor and also the reason I go by a different name when I smuggle, keeps my family safe.”

            “Having some trouble with bounty hunters, Captain?” Darmas says as we walk in. “I can’t help it if I’m popular with all the wrong people,” I say with a slight smirk. He chuckles as he rises and walks in front of me, “Don’t sell yourself short, darling. All the right people find you charming, too.” I smile up at him and kiss him in thanks before pulling away and sit down in the booth. He keeps his eyes on me as he walks around the table to sit on my other side, “I hear the Black Sun’s on an emergency recruitment drive, and you had an altercation at the spaceport. I take it my lead was worthwhile,” as he slips an arm around me bringing me closer to him. I sigh, “We have an ally, actually. But no matter how close I get, I still can’t catch Skavak. I need the best information you’ve got.” He nods, running his opposite hand up and down my thigh, “You’re receiving it, I assure you. These things take time,” just as something beeps. “Hold on, I’m receiving an alert from my network. This may be what we’ve been waiting for…” then he presses a button then holds his left ear and I can hear someone speaking. Then finally he nods, “Looks like your efforts have paid off, Captain. My informants just witnessed Skavak fighting someone and fleeing into Justicars’ territory,” I internally groan as Darmas exclaims, “We have him!” I try to perk up, “Did your informants say who Skavak was fighting?”

            “An alien of some sort, according to this report,” I groan, figuring it’s Miel as he continues, “Very peculiar. The Justicars don’t tolerate outsiders in their sector. Skavak must be desperate to risk his life going there,” Darmas states his arm somewhat tightening against me. “Believe me I know,” remembering my run in with them years ago. Darmas looks at me worriedly and I can see his mind trying to figure out reasons I would know, “My informants are a brother and sister named Jiik and Juul. They know where to find Skavak. I’ll tell them you’re coming after lunch.” I smile and nod “Oh, I have a friend that I asked to join us.” He sighs but nods motioning to a dancer to let them in. “Dar, I’d like to introduce you to Talia and her friend, Kira.” Darmas raises and walks over them and takes Talia’s hand first and kissing, before doing the same with Kira. “Darmas Pollaran at your service,” he says before returning to my side and drawing me closer then kissing my cheek, I blush. Talia goes to sit in between Corso and I while Kira sits on his other side.

            “So what do you do, Darmas?” Talia asks. _Oh, great! The interrogation begins…_ Darmas says “Officially, I’m an information gather. I know everything that goes on in Coruscant. Unofficially a fantastic gambler. I’d ask you but I can tell from your lightsabers, that you are a Jedi…” She smiles slightly, “I am indeed. And so is my mother…” looking at him, “however I’m a sister first,” finishing with a ‘if looks could kill’ look causing me to glare at her. She smiles sweetly and he swallows again and nods, now I’m perplexed but Tali drops the conservation.

            After lunch is finished, Darmas escorts us to our new speeder. “Why don’t I give you beautiful ladies and Corso a night on the town,” he says as we walk. “Perfect! Can I bring a couple friends along?” He looks at me grabbing my hand and kissing it like he did with Talia and Kira earlier, “Anything you want, darling.” I blush smiling then I kiss him on the cheek when he rises earning a soft smile. He says goodbye with a handshake with Corso, a kiss on both Jedi’s hands, and a long passionate kiss with me. As we’re on the speeder my holo chimes and Jessi appears still looking very irritated, “So where are you heading?” I look at my sister nervously, “Tali and I are both going to the Justicar sector.” Tali’s eyes widen, “You’re going there why?!” I sigh, “It’s for my ship, Tali, okay? I wouldn’t go anywhere near that place if I didn’t have too.” Jessi grimaces, “I have to go there too. We’ll see you there,” as she ends the call. I can’t look at Tali the rest of the ride and Havoc joins the group. Kira’s eyes widen at the sight of them causing Jessi to say, “Introductions are probably needed… I’m Lieutenant Jessi Tae and this is Sergeant Aric Jorgan.” Kira nods, “Sorry about that. I forget my manners sometimes. I’m Kira Carsen, Talia’s Padawan.” Jess nods “Well, nice to meet you. It’ll be nice working with two Jedi,” finishing with a soft smile and a light punch to Tali’s arm, “Now let’s get out of this place.” Tali and I both nod in agreement. I’m the first one to split of the group to go to the location Jiik and Juul should be at.

            “The captain, right? About time you got here! Thanks to you, the Justicars snagged my brother Jiik. Never should’ve tangled ourselves in your ‘cloudhead’ business.” I internally groan, _great one of them._ A ‘cloudhead’ is someone people in the lower levels call those that live above. They say it’s because the air is thin and heads are soft. They call themselves, ‘turfers’ because they’re near the ground and they really dislike ‘cloudheads.’ “I’m Juul. My brother Jiik and I were watching Skavak for you. Big mistake. Nothing but trouble,” Juul continues, “Things always go bad for turfers when cloudheads come down here. Never should have took this job.” I sigh, “Where did they take him? I'll help you turfers out, since you’re helping me.” Juul scoffs, “Makes you a real saint, cloudhead.” I groan, _this is making me miss being called captain all the time._ “Jiik and I were tailing Skavak when the Justicars came after us. Jiik stuck to Skavak. I drew the Justicars. I lost those helmet-brains easy, but they snagged Jiik and hauled him off to their detention center,” Juul continues, “Jiik knows where Skavak went, but he didn’t have time to spill it to me before they snagged him. So without volunteering you’d already have to help us. You want Skavak? Better prowl into the Justicars’ detention center and free my brother.” I sigh, “I’d do it without him having the information. Because it’s the right thing to do, not because I get something out of it.”

            “Once inside the detention center, you have to bash all the Justicar droid-eyes. That’s how they track intruders.” I nod, already knowing that. Droid-eyes are what turfers call security cameras. “If the droid-eyes aren’t rubble, the Justicars will know your face. You don’t want that.” I nod grimly, _sadly they already do,_ then she says, “Take this holotransmitter with you. I want to talk to Jiik as soon as you free him.” I nod again then head back out mumbling about ‘cloudheads,’ Talia chuckles knowingly. “Are you finished yet?” she asks, I shake my head, “Have to go to the Detention Center.” Tali frowns until Kira says, “That’s where we’re headed.” Tali turns to her before looking back at me, “Then we might as well go together.” I nod then lead the charge and the fighting begins again. After a long run and dozens of fights we finally reach the detention center where Havoc continues on for their mission and we continue inside. And as we do so, I begin shooting the droid—camera’s and Corso follows my lead. Tali gives me, her classic ‘what are you doing’ expression and I shrug, “I don’t want them to see our faces.” She nods knowing that’s reasonable then we split up. As we enter one of the rooms, I see Miel pounding on the force field keeping him locked up. “Upstanding citizen? Hello! Over here! Help me!” Miel exclaims when he sees us, I run over to him, “What happened?”

            “They are lawbreakers pretending to be peace officers. That is a severe offense under Statute 52974 of the Sullustan Criminal Code. The fugitive Skavak ambushed me down here and fled. The Justicars interrupted my pursuit and demanded I surrender. I did not want to harm people I believed were local authorites, so I surrendered and allowed the Justicars to bring me here.” I sigh, “I knew that was you. Did they hurt you?” He shakes his head, “Luckily, they forgot about me when they brought a male human in for interrogation.” I grimace, _great…_ “Come on!” as I deactivate his force field. Miel nods and limps out, “This is the second time you have come to my aid. I owe you a significant debit. I must rearm and renew my pursuit of Skavak. Thank you for your help, upstanding citizen. When I return to Sullust. I will file a Form 453391 and request an official commendation for your actions.” Just as I’m about to tell him to wait that I have information that might help, he walks out.

            “I… I feel like my insides are coming out,” Jiik says when we finally find him. Honestly, he looks pretty good for being beaten up. “It’s not that bad but I have some kolto that’ll help,” I state. He smiles slightly, “Thanks…” I shrug, “No problem. Now let’s get you out of here.” I disable his force field then hand him both the kolto and the holo Juul gave me and she calls immediately, “Jiik? It’s me, Juul. Are you alright? What did those Justicars do to you?” I groan when Jiik says, “Hey, sis. Knew you wouldn’t forget about me. Who’s the cloudhead?” _Yep, missing captain…_ She holds her hand in front of her mouth like that will stop me from hearing, “The captain Darmas asked us to help. What happened when you followed Skavak? How come the Justicars snagged you?” He raises his hand waving it in front of him as he says, “Saw something I wasn’t supposed to. You won’t believe this, but I caught the Justicars trading supplies with the Empire.” I groan, “I sure hope not…” Juul turns to me, “Some turfers think a few Imperials stayed behind after the war ended. I always thought it was just stories to scare the kids.” Jiik nods grimly, “Skavak and the Imperials were laughing about something. Not sure what. The Imperials took Skavak into the Works.” I groan again “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.” The Works is a big mess of power stations and old factories below this sector, and it’s not very friendly. “If Skavak dropped down to the Works, you may as well go home. You wouldn’t last five minutes,” Juul continues. “We’re pretty good. Bet we last ten minutes,” Corso says behind me. I roll my eyes “Not helping, Corso!” He chuckles “Sorry, Captain.” I look back at him narrowing my eyes before returning my attention to Jiik and Juul, “I’ve handled worse.”

            “The Works is nothing but toxic ruins and berserk droids. People who go down there don’t come back,” Juul says unimpressed. “I have a habit of surviving, Juul. Don’t worry,” I state unworried. “You’re a lot braver then I thought. Or dumber,” Juuk states slightly smirking. “I’d like to go home, now. This is the worst party I’ve ever been to,” Jiik states bring his sister’s attention back on him. She nods, “Remember the tunnel we found? Crawl in and come to the warehouse, I’ll hide you from the Justicars.” She hangs up, and he groans, “Great. I’m going to smell like rancor droppings for a week. Thanks for busting me out, Captain.” I smile at him, “No problem. Oh, here’s some credits for helping me and as an apology of getting you in this mess.” He looks at me shocked as I hand him some credit sticks “Wow, I haven’t seen this much in my life. Good luck down in the Works, Captain. You’ll need it,” then he limps out of the room.

            Corso is looking at me oddly once Jiik leaves. “What, Corso?” I finally ask, He shakes his head, “Nothing Captain.” I roll my eyes but make our leave before more Justicars come to investigate that is until a hurried Talia runs into me, knocking us both over. “Woo, slow down there, what’s the hurry?” Corso asks after helping both of us up. “We have to get down to the Works, Coruscant’s in trouble…” Kira exclaims once she recovers from laughing. _Wait, what?!_ “What’s wrong?” _It can’t be any worse than the Sacking, can it?_ I’m pretty sure it can’t be until I hear Talia say “Tarnis, the Sith I’m after, is starting a device that won’t let anyone leave or enter the planet.” _Oh, that’s worse…_ “Oh, stars.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ==========================  
> Hope ya'll enjoy it and sorry for any mistakes.  
> Positive feedback is greatly appreciated!


	8. At Last

=-=-=-=-=-=

            We basically run out of the Detention Center, in our hurry and thankfully regroup with Havoc though they don't necessary notice. Jessi is nervously looking over at Jorgan as they approach us, both obviously unaware we're here until Jessi finally looks away. She begins smiling until she notices our serious faces then runs towards us, “What's wrong?” Kira answers, “Tell you on the way.” Jess frowns, “Neither of you are finished, are you?” I shake my head silently, not able to form words at this point, which Jess doesn't miss. She gives Talia an alarmed look as we all begin walking before Tali says, “We have to go to the Works.” Her eyes widen as her eyebrows knit together, “So do we.” Tali nods then breaks into a run, and I can feel her anxiety, the rest to follow quickly follow. Jessi's worried expression doesn't leave just gets more pronounced, as she asks again, “What's wrong?” Kira answers thankfully, “Coruscant's in trouble.”

            “How bad,” Jessi asks after groaning. “Worse than the sacking,” I finally manage to say. Jessi gasps, “There are Imperial Soldiers here, do you think they are here because of that?” Talia shrugs as we continue, “I don't think so. It seems like Tarnis was working alone but I could be wrong.” Jessi chuckles, rather darkly, “Or more likely you could not be and it's just a coincidence.” The entrance to the Works is all the way back to where we land near where I met Juul, however now it's Havoc who needs to speak with someone, thankfully giving us all chance to breathe. Once Jessi and Jorgan return, we go directly go to the elevator heading into the Works. All of us instantly start breathing thru our mouths as the smell is pungent and overwhelming. “What brings you down here?” a trooper asks who's leaning against the wall opposite to the elevator. Jessi walks up so he can see her Havoc badge clearly, “Our assignments. What's going on here, Sergeant?” I hear the man swallow, “You might have problems getting thru. We're getting resistance from berserk repair droids and Imperials alike.” I'm pretty sure Talia and I are thinking the same thing when she asks, “Droids are giving you trouble?” He flinches, “In a matter of speaking, yes. They've been down here so long without interaction with organics, they believe we're 'invading' and have been doing suicide runs.”

            “My apologies... Are they blocking the way to the...” Talia begins before swallowing, “to the Jedi Ruins?” I can feel the color draining from my face as the trooper answers her, “Why would you need to go there?” Why indeed, I can feel Tali glance at me before answering, “There's a Sith there, with a weapon that can endanger everyone on this planet.” The trooper gasps, “My squad and I will do everything to help you get there safely, Master Jedi.” Tali nods, and I'm slightly relieved she won't be placing those Ruins alone, “Thank you, Sergeant...” He salutes, “Sergeant Avery Carter, ma'am, um, master Jedi.” Tali chuckles “I'm a Knight, but thank you. Gather your squad, Sergeant, the weapon is already arming,” Carter nods then salutes her again before walking off. Beside me Jessi starts laughing, “And here I thought I was the only one who makes people nervous.” Tali joins her in laughter, “Apparently not, Jess. Come on, let's see what we can do about those droids while we wait.”

            Carter was right about those droids, as soon as one of them saw us, they immediately started walking towards us. The only indication of their intentions, a flashing red light on their chest that starts blinking more rapidly as they approach. The first one is only a few feet back before it explodes, thankfully not hurting our group but I think Talia is more to thank for that. As soon as the smoke clears, I see four more walking quickly towards us. I place a hand on Tali's back. The explosion is making our ears ring, so instead of speaking I mouth, 'Let us handle it.' My sister nods understandingly, moving out of the way so Havoc, Corso, and I can open fire. Our hearing comes back just as we hear a whistle. Tali and I both look around to spot the source, a squad of about ten troopers standing behind us. Carter walks up, “That was some nice handling. The boys and I are ready to protect our Republic, master Jedi.” I release a rather relieved sigh as the Jedi grins, “Good.”

            With the six of us plus Carters men we make short work of the droids and move quickly thru the tunnels of the Works, to where the Jedi and Carter's men have to continue alone. Corso and I immediately run into the side room where Skavak should be having his meeting. Sure enough, we overhear a rather surprising conversation. “The Murustavan Ruby. It's even more exquisite than I imagined. This will be the perfect centerpiece for my gift to the Grand Moff,” a man with a heavy Imperial accent says somewhat smugly, or that could just be that he's Imperial. “I'm sure it'll earn you a nice, fat promotion. Maybe the Grand Moff will finally let you go home to Dromund Kaas?” Skavak says, rather sarcastically as we walk stealthy inside, hiding behind some large crates. “Watch your tone, Skavak,” the Imperial all but yells, “My agent is standing by at the spaceport, ready to deliver the item. You have someone ready to receive it?” My ears perk up at that, he has my ship in the spaceport! Man, I really thought he was smarter than that.

            “There's a twitchy little starship merchant named Fabizan in my docking bay. He'll accept my payment,” comes Skavak's voice. Thank you for that info, Skavak. “Lieutenant, transmit the signal. I don't know what you want with that grotesque trophy, Skavak, but it's all yours now,” the Imperial states as Corso starts getting twitchy. “Captain, why don't we attack now?” Corso thankfully whispers. I softly groan, “Because we are getting useful info, cowboy. Okay now, hush.” Corso pouts and I roll my eyes, “What are you after, Skavak?” I ask nobody. “You need any other priceless relics, Commander Kasstroff, just let me know,” Skavak states and I know he's about to take off, so I silently roll out of our hiding spot before walking towards the four men; two Imperial soldiers, their uniformed commander, and Skavak. “Sorry I'm late to the party, boys. Traffic was crazy,” I state calmly holding one blaster to the commander’s head as Corso follows me holding his blaster rifle. The Imperial turns to the thief, “Skavak, is this some sort of trick?” And I slightly smile when the 'Jackal of the Stars' rolls his eyes and walks closer, “Captain. Seriously, I admire your persistence, but this is ridiculous.” The Imperial frowns, clearly not a fan of being ignored, “Skavak, who is this woman? One of your many conquests?” Skavak chuckles, his eyes clearly roaming me, “She wishes,” just as I feel someone enter the room. Beside me, Corso growls, “You're gonna be a floor stain when I'm done with you, Skavak.” I have to fight a chuckle that threatens then Skavak says “Corso, heard about your job. Don't let unemployment make you bitter, all right?” Corso growls again as Skavak continues turning back to me, “You the one who fouled up my identity record and sent half the galaxy chasing me? That wasn't very nice, Captain.”

            “It was the least I could do,” I state rather smugly, wondering if he knows what else I did to his record? His blue eyes narrow at me, “Really? Was it necessary to tell every woman in the civilized galaxy I have Bothan Nether Wart? That's just low. Plus, I can't believe you kept that Sullstan lawman alive. If it wasn't for the Justicars, the little runt might have actually caught me.” I silently chuckle, “How long did it take for you to find that out, Skavak?” His jaw tightens as the commander cuts in, “Enough of this. The captain is your problem, Skavak. Deal with it.” I silently scoff as Skavak says, “Commander, would you mind dealing with the Captain for me? I've got places to be...” then he runs off. I laugh as Commander Kasstroft exclaims, “Skavak! Blast that scoundrel. Always leaving me to clean up his messes...” I somewhat smirk, using the Force to keep a eye on the coward, “Do you enjoy being Skavak's maid, Commander?” The Imperial frowns, “No, and I'm afraid you won't be leaving here. We'll give you a very nice unmarked grave.” As soon as he's finished, the newcomer makes his move, “Attention, Imperial lawbreakers! You are in violation of Statute 1983 of the Sullustan Code. Drop your weapons and surrender the gem!” Miel states as he walks up.

            “Who do you think you are giving me orders? You're as good as dead, you alien filth,” Kasstroft exclaims, looking appalled as I turn to Miel. “I was going to give you a heads up,” I state with a smile, “but I'm glad you found us.” Miel smiles and nods before turning to the soldiers “Imperials, you are guilty of smuggling and crimes too numerous to mention. Do not make things harder on yourselves by resisting arrest! I have already disabled your comlinks and cut you off from any reinforcements! Drop you weapons now!” My fists tighten as the Imperial says, “Spare me your false heroics. Men, kill this alien scum!” Just before the three men open fire, I leap to the side taking Miel with me. I look back just in time to see four blaster shots hit the wall behind us, that would've been Miel. Breathing in I go into fight mode, throwing my portable cover down. Corso looks over to make sure I'm okay, and I nod before opening fire on the Imperials starting with their cocky commander. It's a brief firefight, as each of us take down a Imperial on our own, however as the Imperials fall lifeless so does Miel, clutching his side. I run to his side immediately screaming, “Miel!” Corso is at my side almost instantly as I kneel over the injured Sullustan. “I... I do not think I will be filing any more reports....” Miel barely gets out. “Hang on, Miel, we'll get you to a med center,” I state, more like beg. The Sullustan shakes his head, “It's... it's too late for that. I am unable to maintain pursuit of Skavak. You must go on without me. I have something that will help you.” I frown, slowly reaching out with the Force, feeling his life slip away with every word. Then our ally hands me a datapad, “Find Skavak. Bring him to justice... for me...” then he goes silent as he becomes one with the Force. “Poor little guy,” Corso says behind me, “He didn't deserve to go out like this.” I nod in agreement before getting up and facing him. His face softens as he raises his hand and touches my face, wiping the tears I didn't realize were falling. Then I get up to remove any valuables from the Imperials, especially the Ruby that Miel came for. As I stand back up, I feel immense pain that nearly sends me back to the ground.

            Corso's arms are around me, almost instantly, “Captain?” I close my eyes, trying to find the source of the pain I feel but it is not me, it's “Talia! We must find her, Corso!” He looks vaguely concerned but nods as he lets me stand on my own. I run out of the room, nearly running into Jessi, who looks at me concerned, “Is everything all right, Chey?” I shake my head, “Tali's in trouble.” Her face becomes pained, “The pad to the Ruins isn't much farther.” I nod then together we run to the speeder landing pad for this sector, forcing the men to run behind us or be left. Once we reach the pad, I immediately stop seeing there's a couple speeders left but as I near one, the memories and pain get the better of me and I have to step away. Jessi looks at me sympathetically as I walk away from the speeders to wait for my sister. It thankfully doesn't take long until we see two speeders coming from the ruins. Once they land, I run over to the one that the Jedi are in. As soon as Talia gets out, I tightly hug her, grateful, “I thought I lost you, sis.” She returns the hug as Jessi walks up, “Planet safe?” I pull away to see her nod, but doesn't say anything. She looks rather pale, Jess and I share a worried look, looking back at Talia just as she collapses.

            I can't help my terrified scream, “Corso!” He is at her side before she hits the floor and I turn away to message A7 to pick us up. Corso carries her to a nearby bench before gently setting her down. I smile at him gratefully, before I join Jessi to search for wounds. We find a couple here and there, mostly scratches, but nothing that would cause any problems. That is until we reach her right side, her hand is covered in a large angry looking red bruise but that's nothing to what is on her side, a massive red spider like bruise. “I'm fine guys, really. I just got hit with a little Force lightning,” Talia states rather calmly, trying to lighten up the mood. I internally grimace, until I hear a familiar voice say, “A little what?” I look down at Tali, just as the newcomer joins our group hovering over her and see her grimace. I glance back at him just as he curses, his eyes staring at her side. Then he glances at me as he removes kolto from his bag and I give him a nod. “Why are you here, Theron?” I hear Tali ask softly. He answers as he begins kneeling at her side, “I was with Master Alena when she felt...” Jessi and I share a nervous look that turns into one of confusion then Tali says, “Oh. Does she know everything?” We both look at her immediately as Theron asks, “And that would be?” But my sister shakes her head, “You'd know it if she knew.” I can feel his confusion as he looks up at Kira. When Kira shakes her head, Theron proceeds putting on the kolto patches on her side and hand before he rises. “I'll take her and Kira to the Tower,” Theron states holding my sister protectively in his arms. I'm about to protest before I feel two hands on either shoulder, one belonging to Corso, the other to Jessi who shakes her head. I sigh returning my attention to Theron, before nodding. He gives me a grateful smile before going to one of our family speeders. My shoulders slump as they disappear, and Jessi squeezes my shoulder, “She'll be fine, Chey.” I nod just as A7 arrives.

             On the return trip to the Senate Tower plaza, I finally look at the datapad Miel handed me. My eyes widen as they rake over the information he found, He found my ship! Jessi looks at me concerned, and I realize I must have shouted it. Corso frowns, “Who?” I slightly smile, hugging the datapad, “Miel! He found the hanger with my ship!” then I quickly turn to my family's droid, “A7 can you drop us off at the Spaceport?” The chrome droid nods, “Of course, young Mistress.” Now understanding, Jessi says, “Drop them off first. Ours isn't time sensitive.” The droid nods again before changing course. I practically jump out of the speeder before it stops in my rush to get my ship back, then I run inside full speed to Docking Bay 87 with Corso following behind. The bay is on the second floor tucked nicely in the center of the spaceport, sadly I have to slice into the mainframe to get the bay door to open but finally we enter. As soon as we do we find the merchant Skavak was talking about but no sign of the man himself. “Excuse me, but in case it wasn't obvious by the locked door you sliced through, this is a private docking bay,” the Bith, Fabizan, states as we approach.

            “Three words, pal. Where's... my... ship?” I nearly growl. “I don't know you, and I sure don't have your ship. Skavak said there might be a troublemaker or two dropping by. He paid extra for security to take care of it,” he pauses just as I sense four men walk up behind us “Boys, like the man says, the customer's always right. You know what to do.” I internally groan as the first man approaches and tries to hit me. I swiftly turn kicking him in the chest, probably breaking a rib or two but nothing fatal. I shake my head at Corso when I notice his aiming for the heart of another grunt, he frowns just as I release two shots to the man's legs, forcing him to collapse. The remaining two men and Fabizan attack. I roll my eyes, punching the Bith in the head and he instantly falls holding his head tightly. The last two chance at each other before both going in for the attack with vibroblades. I groan, removing a hidden knife from my belt and blocking their attack with it before kneeing the one on the left in the crotch, having him fall to his knees. The last man pauses in his attack before rising his hands in surrender causing Corso to chuckle, “I've never seen anyone fight like that especially one verses five.”

            “They're lucky I'm tired of death today,” I state plainly before rounding on the Bith, “My ship!” Fabizan swallows “All right, all right! I get it—you're tough! Don't hurt me. I'm not a threat, I'm just a simple starship salesman!” he exclaims holding his hands up in surrender. My eyes narrow as I raise my blaster to his head, “That just means you're an even bigger thief than Skavak, who stole that ship from me.” He swallows again, “I'm just trying to earn a living. It was none of my business where Skavak got that ship, so I never asked. Listen, your ship's in great shape. All the cargo is still on board. Even had it detailed. No harm done, right?” Corso chuckles, “Not yet—but you owe the Captain something for all her trouble.” The Bith nods, “I can give your ship a nice upgrade and charge it to Skavak's account. Interested?” I smirk, now lowering my blaster, “As long as Skavak's paying, I'm buying.” Fabizan rises, “It'll take until tomorrow to finish everything.” I nod, handing him another datapad, “Take the ship to that hanger. It has better security and will allow you to work peacefully.” He nods then walks into the hanger where I see my ship for the first time. Skavak had the accent colors changed from red and orange to yellow and blue but I'm not too upset actually, it looks amazing. I smile as I see it roar to life and take off, I got her back, Uncle.

            Once 'Lady Luck' is off, Corso and I start heading out of the Spaceport. “Where to now, Captain?” Corso asks once we're outside. I roll my eyes, “Heading to the Tower to find Havoc and the Jedi.” He nods, “Lead the way then, Captain.” I internally groan, but begin walking toward the Tower. Corso whistles as we enter causing Security to glare in our direction, before one of them walk up to us. “Excuse me, ma'am, but citizens and tourists aren't allowed in today,” the guard states, narrowing his eyes at Corso until there's a cough from behind him. “Is there a problem here?” comes a familiar voice. He turns then nervously swallows, “Good afternoon, Senator Price.” Corso's eyes widen then nervously looks over at me which I ignore, smiling at the newcomer, “There isn't.” The Senator turns to me then grins, “Chey!” I chuckle then go give her a hug, “Hey Liz.” She returns the hug before turning to the security officer, “This is Jedi Master Alena's daughter and a family friend of mine, so her and her friend are allowed entrance,” she pauses as she returns her attention to me, “Walk with me.” I nod, “Of course.” I can feel Corso's eye flicking from me to the young Senator Price as we walk through the halls.

            “So, I saw Jessi earlier due to some official business concerning her squad. But I didn't think I'd see you here too,” Elizabeth states softly as we walk, “I thought you might be having a reunion.” I look over at her, “I would've but my ship was stolen, I've gotten it back through so no worries. How did the official business go with Jess?” She grimaces, “Not well. I wasn't the only familiar face but I think he's been enlighten.” I grimace as well, “No wonder she wasn't in the best moods earlier.” She nods, “So anyway. Matt has had a nice reunion with his best friend.” My eyes widen slightly, “You're in contact?” She nods, “I am. Oh, hello again Jessi!” I look away to see my best friend walk out of one of the halls that contains the military offices. Jess smiles jogging over to give Liz a hug, “You didn't hit him too hard, did you?” My eyes widen, “You hit him?” Liz's face reddens “Yes, but it's not like he didn't deserve it.” I snort and both Jessi and Liz burst into giggles and Corso looks at me confused as we all walk down the hallway to Mom's chambers. Liz notices where we're going almost automatically, giving me a weird look. “Tali,” is all I say and she mouths 'Oh,' then goes rather silent which is never good. I lightly bump into her shoulder, “You know something.” She nods grimly, “I know about the attack,” then she looks up with a serious face, “We're one step closer to war.” My eyes close, “That bad,” she nods. “I'll let Tali and Master Alena say more,” she continues once we stop in front of Mom's door. “It was good seeing you, Chey and you, Jess,” she says between hugs before turning the men, “I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself probably but I really must be going.” Corso nods while Jorgan salutes her before she walks away, Corso's eyes following her.

            “I can believe you know a Senator!” he exclaims softly. I roll my eyes, “I know many Senators, Corso, along with Generals and Jedi Masters. You two stay out here. If I know my sister, Mom probably is insisting on medical treatment.” Beside me, Jessi chuckles and at their confused looks clarifies, “If she tries to run out you're here to stop her, basically.” They nod and we enter the room just as Tali says, “I'll have you know Thea got hurt much more than I did.” Neither Jess or I can contain our snort. “Lies,” I state crossing my arms staring at my sister, “Thea always ran to get someone to help you.” Talia groans, “Can we not do this.” I smirk, grateful her colors back, “Oh? And why not?” pausing as I notice we aren't alone. My eyes land on Theron my smirk widening, “Now I see.” As Mom is seemingly finished with her side “Okay, that's all healed. Now for your hand,” as she gingerly picks it up then uses the Force to heal her, “How's that?” She tests it before smiling, “Feels good.” Mom nods and starts flicking each of her fingers before turning to face me, “Now is there a reason you're here?” I smirk, getting an idea, “Yes. A certain someone has invited me, Talia and Kira on a night in town,” then I turn to the only man in the room, “And I just wanted to extend that offer to you, Theron.”

            His eyes widen, “Me?” I nod, seeing Tali slightly panicking, “Of course. You have helped Tali quite a bit, besides helping her save Coruscant. I think that deserves a celebration, don't you?” Theron nods hesitantly, but that's not good enough, as I turn to my sister, “Shouldn't he come, Tali?” She sighs, “That's up to him, sis.” I frown, narrowing my eyes at her, telling her 'wrong answer.' She grimaces slightly before smiling, “But I'd like it if he came...” I smirk in victory, and I notice her look at Kira before she groans. Kira and I share a knowing look as Theron looks at her then smirks, “Sure, I'll come. Need to keep an eye on Miss Dropsy,” and I know we're thinking the same thing. I grin, tempted to clap my hands, “Excellent. How about we met here in front of the Senate Tower in,” glancing at the chrono, “about four hours! Sound good?”

            “Sounds perfect,” Theron says, still staring at the Jedi knight. Mom chuckles, slightly shaking her head, “Now get out. You are interfering with my mediation time.” Tali and I roll our eyes as we say “Yes, Mom.” That spurs everyone out, leaving the three of us, so we take advantage of that and kiss Mom's cheeks simultaneously. “You two be safe. Okay?” she says seriously after giving us both a hug. We look at her questioningly and she shoos us out, “Go, have fun!” Tali and I share a confused look as the door closes. “So where are we going now?” Kira asks pointedly, staring at us with a smile. Theron shakes his head “Well, I've got to go. I'll see all of you tonight, I guess.” I smile slyly at my sister, “We'll walk out with you,” causing said woman groan so only I can hear. I respond with a wink. On the way outside, both Kira and I work together to keep the two of them walking side by side, with me in front and Kira behind her Master. Once we're out of the Tower, I look back to see Kira casually but purposefully knock Tali into Theron, who catches her and beginning her to his chest. Kira and I share a silent victory look before turning and continuing our walk towards the waiting speeder.

            Kira sits next to me as we glance over at the two still in the same position, watching them flirt unconsciously. We chuckle then Kira turns, “Do you know who he is?” I shake my head, “Only that he's been helping you and his name. Why?” Kira frowns slightly then whispers, “He's a SIS Agent.” My eyes widen with the new information, my curiosity growing, before I nudge her, warning her that Talia is coming. A7 helps her inside and as the only available seat is between Kira and I, she grudgingly sits down. I lightly bump into her shoulder as the speeder takes off, before turning to look at the two Cathars behind us, “Oh, I forgot to add that both of you are coming with us tonight.” Both Cathars begin to respond immediately but I cut them off, “Neither of you have a choice in the matter.” Jessi groans and Jorgan crosses his arms, frowning as I turn back around with a victory smirk. The rest of the ride home is silent until Kira sees the estate, “Wow! That's impressive!” I giggle slightly, “Welcome to Sky Palace, Kira.” Kira looks around continuously as we land, afraid to miss one detail. Tali and I share amused look as the young Jedi practically spins in a circle. “Come on Kira,” Talia finally says before turning to A7, “Can you please ready another room?” The protocol droid nods before walking into the house as Kira walks up, “I can't believe you live here!” I shake my head before walking inside, waiting for the others to enter. The when the last two enter, Kira and Talia, I grab Jessi and Tali by the hand, with Kira following excitedly, and begin pulling them upstairs. Once the four of us are up, I lightly push them slightly down the hallway as I talk to the men below, “Okay boys, you have three hours to relax and get ready. If you aren't finished by then, I'll make you be...” and on that note, I turn and walk towards the three women.

            “Sit,” I practically demand once we've entered my room, pointing at the bed. Talia groans “Chey, I can get ready on my own...” she doesn't finish the sentence as she regains her senses, or known as me glaring at her. She swallows “Okay, sis. What do you have in mind?” Beside the new Knight Kira chuckles, amused that her Master is afraid of her younger sister. I smirk in triumph, “We will pick out our outfits for tonight now, then you each will take a shower or whatever, then we will get ready together.” I hear a soft thud hitting the bed and look over to see Jessi laying down with her eyes closed as she says, “I'm pretty sure all of us are older than you, Chey...” My eyes narrow as I glare at her, then scoff, “I know if I let you get ready by yourselves, you will find some reason not to go. And that is not an opinion...” Tali and Jessi sigh, “Fine.” I grin and clap, “Excellent,” then enter my closet. Which of us have a screen inside our closets that are programmable, allowing us to filter out what kind of look we're going for and shows us a holographic image of the outfit. Most of my sisters forget about it but it's times like this it comes in handy. Once I put in the filters, I begin searching through the list for a dress for Jessi. I quickly find the one, a slightly transparent black knee length dress, that I then toss at Jessi and it lands on her stomach. She gingerly picks up her head to look at it before staring at me wide eyed, “You are kidding me right!? You do realize that my fur is tan, right?” I grin, nodding “Yep!” then return to the closet. Inside I can still hear, Jess say, “She's trying to kill me...” Tali chuckles, “At least she's not trying to hook you up with someone...”

            The Cathar groans in response and Talia starts laughing, “She is, isn't she?” Apparently, Jessi nods and as Tali continues, “Who?” then says a simple “Oh,” pausing before continuing, “At least he's cute.” The must get some sort of nonverbal response, as my sister chuckles, “So there's a reason she's pushing you two together. You like him.” I chuckle to myself returning my attention to the task at hand, finding a dress that suits Kira but I still here Tali say, “At least your parents won't bug you that he's not a Cathar.” Kira joins in just as I find the perfect one, “Jorgan.” Jessi groans as I exit the closet rolling my eyes at her, as I holds up a silky emerald green off the shoulder dress for Kira to see. She tilts her head, “For me?” I nod, a little unsure if she likes it, “Of course.” But thankfully, Kira grins and gets up to hold the dress to her and it works with her perfectly, both Jessi and Tali nod in approval. Kira then turns and faces the mirror before nodding and surprising me with a hug, “It's perfect...” I grin then turn to my sister, “You get to pick out mine.”

            Talia sighs dramatically, grudgingly getting up and walks into the closet. Unsurprisingly she isn’t in there all that long before walking out, holding a blue and silver dress that looks like the night sky. My eyes light up as she holds it up and asks, “Do you like this one...” I nod. Then Tali smirks and tosses it on the bed then uses the Force to bring out another one, “Or this one?” I squeal, rising from the bed to take it, “I love it!” It's a red strapless dress, that stops just above the knee and is rather form fitting, perfect for me. Tali chuckles before using the Force to bring back the blue one to her, “What do you think?” holding the dress up. It looks perfect on her and brings out her blue eyes nicely, I clap, “It's definitely more you than me!” Tali chuckles, lightly hitting me on the arm as I turn to face Jessi and Kira. “Time to get ready!” I exclaim happily, “Come back here in an hour!” Just as I finish, there's a knock on the door which Tali opens, revealing A7, “Good evening young mistress, the room you asked to be prepared is finished.” She nods, “Thank you, A7.” The chrome droid bows, “I will show her to her room if you like, young mistress.” Kira nods, causing her Master to chuckle as she turns back to the droid, “Yes, please. Thank you, A7.” He nods then turns to Kira, “If you would follow me, ma'am, I'll show you to your room.” Kira nods again and enthusiastically follows the droid out into the hallway. Jessi shakes her head before leaving too. “I'm going to get you back for this you know...” Tali states crossing her arms. I blink, “I don't know what you are talking about, Tali.” She sighs shaking her head before heading out. Once the door is securing closed, I holo Darmas who answers immediately. He grins when he sees me, “I was wondering where you were. Everything under control?” I nod, “Of course, Darmas. I was calling to let you know I found my ship.” His face falls slightly but I continue, “I was hoping that we could have that night in town tonight to celebrate. I owe all the credit to you anyway.” Darmas' grin returns, “I'd be delighted too, darling.” I smile, “Great. Just a word of warning I am bringing friends along.” He rolls his eyes but smirks, “Whatever you desire. Oh, and come to the Cantina when you're ready.”

            “See you in a bit then,” I say with a smile. Darmas just smirks before ending the call and I begin removing the weapons of my person, setting them on a nearby table before shrugging out of my vest and removing my belt and boots then walking into the refresher. After undressing, I toss my clothes in the laundry shoot before walking to my shower to rub away the dirt and grim of today. After my very thorough shower I just wrap a simple towel wrapper around me, seeing as I not planning on going out of my room. I then walk to the vanity where I start the complicated process of getting myself back to normal; lotions, sprays, etc. Once I feel like myself again, I walk out of the refresher beginning to pace as I can feel the nervous energy of my family through the bond. Just as I'm around to start worrying to myself, I sense Talia's presence outside my door which I open with the Force. “Problems?” I hear her ask, trying to lighten my mood. I glare at her, “Not funny!” She chuckles, shaking her head as she goes to sit on the bed, curling her legs under her, the way she would when she needed comfort. “Are you okay?” I ask somewhat timidly, afraid of what rattled my sister so. She looks up at me briefly, before returning her attention to the floor, “Tarnis was the second dark Force user I've killed.” I grimace, that's what, “There wasn't any other way, Tali. If there was you would have found it.” I look over at her, as she tries to smile but it becomes more of a grimace, and I'm pretty sure there's more she's not telling me but I hug her anyway.

            We stay like that until Jessi and Kira walk in wearing comfortable clothes, “Is everything okay?” Jessi asks concerned. “She is second guessing herself,” I state simply, knowing Talia wouldn't have said anything. Both Kira and Jess frown before turning to the Jedi, “And why is that?” She sighs and sure enough says, “Everything is fine.” Jessi's frown deepens before it softens, “You had to kill the Sith, didn't you?” She nods, “I saw that one coming. It's just that Tarnis was following orders from his father...” stopping mid-sentence causing Jessi and myself to share a look, “Who's his father?” It's Kira who answers, “Darth Angral.” My mind stops, just wanting to freeze in place, until it starts replaying that Tarnis the man Tali was after is the Sith's son. Thankfully my worry about my sister causes my mouth to begin working again, “Does he...” but I still can't finish the thought. Thankfully my sister can guess the question, “He watched it. I have to go to Ord Mantell, apparently, he has a base there.” I frown, wondering if he had anything to do with the Separatists, just as Jess says “Havoc will join you.” I see Tali glance at me, and I nod, “As will Corso and I,” before clapping, “Okay enough depressing topics, we have to get ready.” Both Tali and Jess groan, falling in the bed, and I roll my eyes, typical.

            Unsurprisingly it takes the entire two hours for us to get ready with hair, makeup, and of course final looks. When we finally exit my room, the men are waiting in the entry room. Both Corso's and Jorgan's eyes widen once they spot us, and I'm please to notice that the Cathar is rather openly staring at his Co, who, despite all of her complaints, looks like a Cathar goddess. The black dress is just transparent enough to hint at what lies underneath, the entire reason I chose it. Her hair is down for the first time in years with no braids, and I'm quite pleased to admit I convince her to let me to curl it. Kira looks stunning, the green of her dress strengthening the red of her hair that is in delicate curls. I'm very happily to say that Talia looks like a goddess as while, the dress making her look wrapped in star light with her curly hair cascading down, revealing the low back. Both men look very handsome, Corso is simply dressed in a collared grey button up shirt and black pants while Jorgan is wearing a simple collared button up white shirt and black pants.

            The men continue gaping at least a certain male Human does as Jorgan tries to look everywhere but at Jessi. The four of us women share an amused look before I cough, “You two ready to go?” That breaks Corso out of his daze, “Don't we still have an hour left.” I frown slightly “No, we're going to see Darmas.” Corso grimaces and begins mumbling under his breath as A7 walks up, “The speeder is ready, young Mistresses.” I nod, pleased to get this night underway, “Excellent, A7. Do you mind being our escort tonight?” The droid bows his head, “It will be my pleasure to. If you will follow me...” The family droid leads us outside to a completely enclosed luxury speeder, “It was a gift from a Darmas Pollaran.” Oh Dar, spoil me why don't you, “It's beautiful.” The chrome droid bows, then opens the door, motioning for us to enter.

             I see Darmas patiently waiting as we head to the Dealers Den cantina, looking much the same as he did the night previous. His face breaks into a grin when he sees his recent gift approach. He's the one to open the door and I make sure the first face he sees is mine as I rush into his arms. He wraps them around me almost instantly. “Hello again, darling. You look exquisite,” he whispers in my ear. I blush and kiss him lightly, as the others begin exiting. Once everyone's out, he grudgingly pulls away from me, “Hello again, my dears. May I say that both of you look stunning,” he states kissing both Jedi's hands again, “I almost didn't recognize the two of you without your Jedi robes.” Talia chuckles, “Thank you for giving us an opportunity to forgo them, Darmas.” He grins, “My pleasure,” he pauses as he turns to face the Cathars, “Now I know I haven't seen you before, beautiful,” as he takes Jessi hand and kisses it, causing the Cathar to blush slightly and the male to emit a low growl, which I catch right away. Darmas must as well, as he stands quickly before returning to my side, wrapping an arm around me as I introduce them, “This is my best friend Jessi and her... friend Aric.” Darmas bows his head slightly, “Pleasure.” He continues as he leads us inside, “Now would any of you fancy a game of sabaac?” Corso groans, “I should have seen that one coming.” Darmas chuckles, “There's a very confident spacer here that is in need of a reality check.”

            “I'll watch but I have a feeling the others wouldn't be interested,” I state simply, wanting at least sometime alone with him tonight. Darmas grins looking down at me, “That will be prefect.” He pauses looking up at the others, “It won't take long in, less he's persistent and I'll inform Lara that your drinks will be on me.” Just as he finishes the lavender Twi'lek from earlier appears at Corso's side, causing Cowboy to begin blushing. “Ah, there you are Lara, I was just going to ask for you.” The Twi'lek, Lara, raises her eyebrows, “Oh?” Darmas looks at Corso with a smirk, “Yes. I'd like you to show Mister Riggs how we do things here on Coruscant. And my friends’ drinks will be on me.” Lara grins, her blue eyes flicking to the human male staring at her, “It'll be my pleasure, Darm.” Then she turns to the rest of the group, “If you'll follow me, I'll lead you to a table.” Talia nods, before the Twi'lek walks away with a puppy eyed Corso Riggs following her. I lightly hit the gambler next to me, “You did that on purpose.” He chuckles nodding, “I did. Wanted to make sure we aren't interrupted,” he pauses, tilting his head, “Which reminds me.” Then his lips are on mine in passionate kiss before taking me to his private cantina booth.

            The spacer is a very cocky Rattataki with five women as his entourage, each exotic and barely dressed. Lara is more covered then the women hanging off the overconfident man. The game starts off well, as I lean on the back of Darmas' chair, ignoring the glares from the women on the other side of the table. Darmas lets the spacer win a couple of hands, though he has better cards, letting his opponent's ego flare. Then just as the spacer begins to brag and feel at ease, his hands running confidently over his women, Darmas 'picks up his game,' and one by one those women leave his side as he loses hand after hand. Once the last woman walks out, he slams his cards on the table as he exclaims “Out,” then heatedly walks out of the booth. “You sure showed him, didn't you?” I finally say, proud of the man who looks up at me smirking. “Couldn't let him think he gets everything now, could I?” he jokes as he gets up, turning to me. I chuckle, as he 'traps' me on the edge of his chair, before beginning to close the distance between us, “So what's your prize then.” He smirks “You,” before closing the rest. We spend much of the remaining time wrapped around one another until it's about ten minutes until we need to leave to meet Theron when we walk out to the room. I giggle when I notice that my group is up dancing including Jorgan, as Darmas warns the owner to be wary of the spacer who left. I walk over to join them when Talia notices me, “Theron is expecting us any moment now.” Tali nods then looks around, probably looking for the only one missing, Corso. I can't help but ask, “Where's Cowboy?” Kira answers, “Last we saw him he was dancing with Lara.” I notice Talia freeze, and I follow her gaze, seeing the Twi'lek on his lap as they kiss passionately. For some reason, it hurts and I can't even be in the same room as the oblivious couple.

            I nearly run out of the cantina and I hear footsteps behind, “You okay?” I turn and am happy and slightly disappointed it isn't Corso, but Darmas. I nod mutely and he wraps me in a hug, running his hands up and down my back soothingly. “I'm not upset that you care about him, you know,” Darmas says tightening his arms around me. I look up at him, “I'm just surprised, is all. Every time we've left after talking to you, he was always irritated with me.” Darmas nods, “Upset you were flirting with me over him. Jealous.” I nod, “But with Lara it's like...” but I can't finish the sentence. “You've ceased to exist,” Darmas finishes for me. I nod grimly, “that and he constantly calls me Captain. It's annoying.” Darmas chuckles, “You don't like Captain?” I frown, “No,” lightly punching him, causing him to chuckle. “Then what do you prefer?” I look up at him, “Cheyanne or Chey.” He smirks, “Okay then Captain Cheyanne.” I groan burying my face in his chest as he laughs before he tilts my head up to kiss me. We stay like that until I feel the others rejoin us, and I'm pleased that Corso is now irritated as we enter the speeder.

            Corso mumbles the entire way to the Senate tower where Theron is waiting and I silently thank the Force. He's wearing the same red leather jacket but with a dressier tight black shirt and form fitting black pants, and even I have to admit he looks gorgeous. I slightly smirk at the effect Theron's appearance does to Talia and hers to him. Kira looks over at me with a wink before smirking and moving over, then patting the seat she just vacated. As Theron sits down by Talia, Kira and I share a victory smirk. Then I switch my attention to the man staring at me vaguely amused the rest of the ride to Desiréé. Once we land the men are the first to exit, each helping one of us ladies out of the speeder and I make sure certain pairs are made, with help from Kira: Theron with Tali and Jorgan with his CO. Darmas smirks as we walk inside, his arm wrapped protectively around me as he leads us to an empty reserved booth near the dance floor and live band. Once we're all seated, a droid appears placing crystal glasses of white Chandrilan wine in front of each of us. That causes Tali to look questioningly at Darmas who smiles, “They give a complementary glass to everyone, my dear. Don't worry,” he pauses to face the SIS Agent next to her extending his hand, “Darmas Pollaran.” Theron nods as he shakes his hand, “Theron.” Darmas grins before turning to look at me, not giving me much of a choice as he grabs my hand and walks us to the dance floor. “You could have asked you know?” I begin, trying to come off as upset. Darmas chuckles as he brings me closer, “We both know what the answer would have been if I did.” I frown at the rather cocky man before losing myself in the rhythm of the song. Darmas smirks, letting his hands slide down to my hips that are swaying with the song.

            When I come back to my senses, I notice the Talia has gotten Theron to dance with her to a rather slow song. I continue to glance around seeing that Kira and Jessi are dancing with two unknown men from the club with Jorgan and Corso sulking at our table. Jorgan is trying hard not to watch Jessi and Corso is glaring at Darmas. I roll my eyes before returning my attention to Darmas only tearing away from him when the song ends and Theron tries to return to the table. When my favorite song comes on, I let Darmas rest before grabbing my sister and Jessi and leading them back towards the floor. After the dance, the three of us are laughing all the way to our table where Darmas instantly wraps his arms around me slightly before a woman with black hair, wearing a shimmery silver dress walks over to our table, “I thought that was you, Lieutenant.” Jessi's head shoots up to see who it is before smiling, “Hey Jaxo. What brings you here?” The woman, Jaxo, smiles, “My boyfriend as decided to stop hiding me.” Jessi tilts her head curiously, “Oh?”

            “Who are you walking to, babe,” the speaker instantly freezes when he notices exactly who his girlfriend is speaking to. Jessi's eyes widen as they flick back and forth from Jaxo and her boyfriend. “Well, aren't you a little hypocrite,” I state, trying and failing to control my anger. Jaxo's eyes widen, “How dare you say such a thing!” Her boyfriend swallows as he places a hand on her shoulder, “It's okay, Ava, I deserve it. Hello Chey,” he pauses as he turns to the other familiar face, “Talia.” Tali nods in greeting, and I can tell she's having the same difficulty, “It's been awhile, Ethan.” The Cathar swallows again “Jessi, may I speak to you for a moment.” Jessi frowns slightly before looking at us and nods, “Suppose it wouldn't hurt.” The tan Cathar grins helping her out of the booth, before leading her and Jaxo to a different table. Theron whistles, “That was...” I slightly laugh when Tali sighs, “Difficult.” I add, “Irritating.” Theron's eyebrows knit together, “I was going to say, Awkward.” I chuckle, “I guess that works. He's lucky I didn't punch him in his senatorial face.” That makes Tali laugh, “You and me both.” The three men minus Jorgan, plus Kira, look at us vaguely confused. Tali is the one to enlighten them, “That's Jessi's brother, Senator Ethan Tae.” Theron's and Darmas' eyes widen in understanding as Corso stares at us dumbly. I groan, not wanting to get into this now, “Dance with me, Dar.” The older man grins, “I'd be delighted to, darling.”

            Darmas is smart enough not to ask any questions about the Senator, just tries to soothe me as must as he can. I try to not glance at the brother and sister, but it's rather difficult to resist the temptation too. So instead I try to focus on the man in front of me and the dancing Theron and Talia. I'm pleasantly surprised that when the song is over they walk out together. I glance at Kira, who gets up with a wink before slowly following behind the SIS Agent and my sister. I chuckle slightly looking back at Darmas, “Thanks for tonight. Well, for everything really.” Darmas chuckles, “You don't have to thank me, darling.” I slightly frown, “But I do. Without you, I'd never have found 'Lady Luck'.” At his confused expression, I clarify “My ship.” He shakes his head chuckling still, “Interesting name for a ship, but...” I lightly glare at him before cutting him with a kiss. It surprises him, but he eagerly responds until his holo rings. He pulls away with a groan, looking at me apologetically. I chuckle, “Go. Business calls.” He frowns slightly but walks away to answer. I shake my head before turning and walking towards the one-sided windows to look at the Courscant skyline. As my eyes follow the familiar lines and drops, I see a very different scene my Jedi sister and the agent passionately kissing. I chuckle as I see Kira leaning on the doorway, jumping slightly when a hand touches my shoulder. Cautiously turning, I see an amused Darmas staring outside as well.

            “That was Dealers Den, apparently, there's a rather persistent man wanting to challenge me,” Darmas states sadly, looking back down at me. “Good, I was getting tired of the atmosphere in here,” I state happily. He frowns and I chuckle, “I'm going with you, Dar.” His frown disappears as he smirks, “Like watching me play Sabaac that much?” I chuckle, shaking my head “No.” His smirks falters but I continue, “I like spending time with you that much,” ending with a light kiss. The smirk returns as he grabs my hand and walks us toward the door, where Talia and Kira block our path. “Where are the two of you going?” Tali asks, demands more like, crossing her arms. “Oh, you know, around,” I state simply, looking up at the now nervous Darmas. He swallows, “I just got a holo that someone is insisting on playing a game of Sabaac with me. Chey here volunteered to be my cheerleader.” Tali frowns now glaring at me until Kira comes to my rescue “Come on, Master. I should get some training in tonight.” Tali's frown deepens as she glances at her Padawan, winking at me. 'Please Tali,' I beg over the bond, 'I promise not to tell Mom or Satele about that little make out session you just had.' That causes her to grimace and grudgingly step aside. I grin, winking at Kira, as Darmas walks us out to a newly arrived speeder.

            Once we enter Darmas' booth, I spot a large cyborg sitting on one of the couches. He has brownish black hair and grey eyes, um eye, his only visible cybernetic is his left eye. “Darmas Pollaran, right?” the man asks gruffly. “I am indeed,” Darmas responds, glancing back at me nervously. “About time you showed up. Was starting to think you chickened out. Name's Captain Herman Wok,” the cyborg states then notices me, “Well, hello there, pretty girl. I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you.” Darmas stiffens as the Captain's eyes run over my body, but thankfully he doesn't ask for my name. Wok rises and walks to the Sabaac table, before his eyes flick to me as he pats his leg. I suppress a disgusted shiver, thankful that Darmas takes my hand, as he walks to the table. I lean on the back of Darmas' chair, trying very hard to ignore the cyborg as I feel his eyes basically devour me. Every time he wins a hand, which is ironically somewhat often, he makes a statement of how good I'd look on his arm, above him, etc. Darmas has been trying to ignore it, but every time Wok makes a comment directed at me, his fists tighten until they're almost white. By the tenth hand, when I'm nearly out of ideas on how to show I'm not interested, Darmas basically pulls me on to his lap and makes a show of kissing me passionately with his hands running over me. I'm breathless by the time we pull away, nearly losing myself and the fact we aren't alone by the look in Darmas' eyes.

            We're forcibly pulled back to reality when Darmas gets hit in the face by a growling Wok. Darmas gets up with me still on his lap, placing me on the now ignored pazaak table before he turns and hits the cyborg squarely in the jaw with such force it nearly sends the spacer to the floor. Security is at Darmas' side immediately, before he motions for them to take the cyborg away, leaving a heavily panting Darmas. I grimace, “I shouldn't have come.” He quickly turns to me, his lip slightly bleeding, “None of this is your fault, Chey.” I lightly touch his tender lip, “This is.” He frowns shaking his head as I get off the table to begin searching for a med pack, finding one near the couches. He chuckles and shakes his head at me when I motion him over. So, I walk over to him and lightly push him into the sabaac table, causing his eyes to darken. Now having him firmly planted, I open the med pack then use one of the cloths to remove the blood coming from his upper lip. Once that's finished I open the bottle of kolto, tsking him lightly when he begins to pull away, tempted to use the Force to keep him in place. He freezes on his own though, his eyes never leaving me, as I put on the kolto.

            “You're stunning, you know. More radiant than a Tatooine sunset,” he states softly, repeating the words he said then we met. I glance at him, nearly forgetting how to breathe with the soft look in his eyes, “I bet you say that to all the girls.” He shakes his head lightly, causing my hand to fall to his chest, “Nonsense darling,” he pauses as he gets closer, our breath mixing, “Can't remember the last time this dark cantina seemed so bright and lovely.” My breath catches as he lightly runs a hand down my face before closing the remaining distance. The kiss, is much like our others, but he's trying to make me feel the truth to his words. Trying to erase all doubt from my mind. I'm the one to pull away as his hands begin to explore, “I thought we weren't going to go rush this...” He sighs, looking gently into my eyes, “We're aren't but this might be the last time we see each other.” I look down, angry at myself for forgetting that I'll probably be leaving tomorrow, then I nod before standing on my tiptoes to kiss him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ==========================  
> Hope ya'll enjoy it and sorry for any mistakes.  
> Positive feedback is greatly appreciated!


	9. A Helping Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Underlined words are 'translated' into Basic [English]*  
> *See notes at the end of the chapter to learn the meanings of the superscript words*  
> *Underlined and italicized words are ship names*

=-=-=-=-=-=

            The vibrant smell of spices fills my nose as I gingerly sit up in bed after feeling the spot next to me for Darmas. When I finally open my eyes, I see Darmas leaning against the door frame with a smirk. I give him my best pout, that has him chuckling as he leans down to pick something up, a tray with French toast, assorted fruits, and milk. “Good morning, sunshine,” he states with that soft look in his eyes once more as he sets the tray in front of me, “Breakfast in bed for a stunning Captain.” As he woke me up early for his delicious breakfast in bed we spend much of the early morning curled together before we grudgingly get ready for the day when Darmas surprises me with a new outfit; a rather sheer white button-down blouse, red leather pants with black leather boots, belt, and vest. I squeal before leaping into his arms and kissing him fiercely which surprises him, nearly knocking him into the wall. He chuckles greedily kissing me back before pulling away, “Come on, Captain, we need to return you to your ship.” I frown slightly burying my head in his neck, mumbling “I don’t want to.” I feel more than hear his chuckle, “So I was helping you for nothing?” I groan shaking my head as he sets me down in a different location, his covered luxury speeder. The entire ride, I’m nearly attached to his side until we stop in front of the Spaceport where Talia, Kira, Jessi, Jorgan, Corso, and little T7 are waiting.

            Darmas gets out first opening my door and kisses me goodbye, causing a certain Mantellian’s hands to tighten until he sees me walking away from him apparently not noticing the sad smile I’ve had the entire ride here from Darmas’ apartment. Talia and Jessi seem to notice my mood, as both seem to continuously glance at me. I try to hide it with a smile, somewhat easing the trooper but not the Jedi Knight as I break the silence, “So Ord Mantell right?” Tali rolls her eyes at me as she wraps an arm around my shoulders nodding. I chuckle as I do the same and together we enter the spaceport. T7 goes ahead of us, beeping excitedly, every once and a while does a little spin, as he leads us deeper inside until Corso and I break off to head to the family hanger as the rest continue. Fabizan meets us in the lobby of the hanger, “Do I work fast or what? All your cargo is accounted for and waiting in the hold, even the special stuff,” the twitchy Bith states, “You’re gonna let Fabizan scoot along now, right? I’ve got other business far, far away from here.” I roll my eyes, “Yes, I keep my word.” Corso chuckles as Fabizan says, “May this ship bring you many fine years of service. If you encounter any problems, please contact the manufacturer. I’m out of here. Thanks for not killing me!” before he runs toward the elevator. Once he’s out of sight, the hanger doors open once more revealing  _Lady  Luck_. Corso whistles, “It’s a beauty alright.” I nod in agreement, as I walk around, inspecting her for any changes or damages. Finding none, I take my search inside with Corso following behind me.

            “My new master, at last, I am Seetoo Ennsix, new steward of this vessel. It is my extreme good fortune to serve you,” a copper protocol droid states rather excitedly as we pass the airlock doors. I immediately freeze glancing at the droid suspiciously, as I never had one before. “I’m Captain Zora Tán. What are your functions, Ennsix?” Corso glances at me vaguely confused as the copper droid answers, “C2-series droids represent the latest advances in everything from starship technical maintenance to nutritional advice tailored to your specific organic needs,” C2-N6 states simply before asking, “Welcome aboard this Corellian  _XS Stock_  light freighter. Would you like a tour, master?” I narrow my eyes at the droid, but eventually nod, as that’s the best way of seeing the changes, “Yes, Ennsix. And mistress is fine…” The copper droid nods, “Of course, mistress. Behind me is the door to the ship’s escape pods,” he stops and walks down the entry hallway to the main hallway that curves around the entire ship, stopping in the middle and pointing to the left, my right, “Thru there are the large lounge and holo terminal, as well as the path to the bridge and access points for manual aiming of the ship’s weapons.” He pauses as he walks towards the stern of the ship, “This is one of the crew quarters across the hall is the ship’s medbay. Further down we have the engine room,” pausing once more to pointing out two more doors as we've made a full circle and are heading back towards the bridge, “The second crew quarters as well as the larger of two community refreshers.” I nod, glad nothing has changed as I glance in each room as we head to the oddly closed door of the cargo hold which the droid skips for now causing me to frown as he continues his ‘tour’, “Here is the ship’s galley and attached lounge which is next to the Captain’s ensuite quarters and a crossed the hall from the second small refresher. And lastly here is the ship’s vast cargo hold,” stopping and opening the doors of the Hold revealing a vastly full cargo hold and a woman with her back to the door.” My frown returns as I enter, glancing at the odd cargo noticing the blasters are gone. The unknown woman begins speaking as I approach her, “I expected to be the only woman on this ship. Are you one of Skavak’s special friends?” pausing as she turns.

            “I was just about to ask you the same question,” I state crossing my arms, vaguely confused. The woman chuckles, “Skavak and I are anything but friends. Frankly, I don’t know what girls see in him. My name’s Risha. I’ve been traveling with Skavak as part of a business arrangement Skavak and I had a deal to deliver the things you see here.” I frown slightly, “Skavak isn’t known to honor those deals.” ‘Risha’ smirks, “Then maybe my luck is about to change. Skavak was going to deliver this cargo, but he’s proving unreliable. I think you might be a much better partner.” I chuckle, “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to listen.” Risha’s smirk grows, “My offer is simple: I make you filthy rich. It’s a pretty straightforward business model,” finishing just as the large holo terminal beeps. She chuckles, “What do you know that’s Skavak on the ship’s holo. This should be an interesting conversation.” I chuckle as I follow her toward the large room, crossing my arms just a hair outside the view of the holo as she answers it “You’re late, Skavak.” The man himself frowns, “That is because the ship isn’t in the hanger. Where did you fly it too, Risha?!” Risha glances at me with an eyebrow raised as she says, “That must have been my new friend. I think you two will loathe each other.” I make a tsking sound as I step into his view, “Hello Skavak. You should know better than to leave a girl with Imperials and here I thought that Bothan Nether Wart was the reason you’ve been so lonely, but now I know it’s how you talk to women. You really need to work on your bedside manner.” Skavak’s eyes narrow as his eyes scan me, “Congratulations, Captain. You’re officially number one on my list of people to kill. When I get my hands on you, you’ll wish you’d never left Ord Mantell.” I chuckle “Come and get me anytime you want, Skavak.”

            “You can bet on it,” Skavak states his eyes once more raking over me, “but I guarantee you won’t see me coming.” I snort, “Promises, promises.” He crosses his arms, “Don’t know how you got away from those Imperials, but next time I’ll kill you myself,” I tsk as he continues, “Assuming Rogun the Butcher doesn’t get you first. I sold all those blasters you were supposed to deliver for him on Ord Mantell. Can’t imagine he’ll be happy you lost them.” I laugh, “Rogun doesn’t scare me, Skavak. I’ve met scarier plants besides I think he and I can come to an arrangement if he likes breathing.” Skavak scoffs, “You honestly think you can kill someone like Rogun the Butcher? Where do you get these delusions?” I glance over at Risha as she chuckles, “Are you done posturing, Skavak? The captain and I have cargo to deliver.” Successfully pulling Skavak’s attention to her, “Don’t you dare think about cutting me out of this deal, Risha!” She rolls her eyes, “’Finders keepers.’ Isn’t that what you always say? Not my fault the captain here beat you to the big prize.” Skavak’s eyes narrow as they flick from me to Risha, “Sweetheart, you two just made the biggest mistake of your lives,” as he ends the call and Risha turns to me. “Thought that blowhard would never switch off. So, we were discussing how I can make you fabulously wealthy,” as we walk back to the cargo hold where she continues. “The pieces here are pieces to a key—a key that unlocks the lost treasure of a very rich dead man named Nok Drayen.” I frown slightly, as I repeat the name in my head. Nok Drayen was an influential crime lord and pirate during the Great Galactic War, ran the Drayen Crime Syndicate until his untimely death, through Braden thought his death was too good to be true. After his ‘death,’ his fortune seemed to disappear with him and both the man and the fortune became a legend. I cross my arms as I lean against the wall, “I’ve heard that story but it’s a legend or, are you telling me you have proof?” Risha smirks, “I knew you were smart,” finishing as Corso walks in, “Who’s Nok Drayen?”

            Risha chuckles, “Nok Drayen was the greatest gangster who ever lived. He personally wiped out the Rath Cartel and the Vandelhelm Combine during the Syndicate Wars. When he died ten years ago, Nok had more wealth than some Outer Rim worlds. Even the Hutts were jealous.” I nod, “There are times I wish I could have met him,” I pause thinking of the stories Braden told us, grimacing as Risha says, “He was ruthless, bloodthirsty and vindictive,” hearing the true venom behind her words, “The only criminals who didn’t fear him were the dead ones. Nok hid his fortune right before he died. For ten years, treasure hunters across the galaxy have searched for it in vain—until now. You see I’ve finally figured out how to get the lost riches of Nok Drayen.” Corso whistles, “Are we going to find it, Captain?” I roll my eyes at him before smiling at Risha, “Then our hunt begins.” She returns the smile, “Whoever gets Nok’s riches will become an underworld legend. Skavak had his chance and blew it. Now it’s your turn. Help me deliver these things in your Cargo hold and the wealth will be all yours.” I frown, “Why are you doing this then?” Risha looks at the floor then back at me, “I’m after something personal. The money doesn’t mean anything to me, Captain. I’m the only one who can help you trade these items to get Nok’s treasure, but I won’t tell you everything up front. To get the riches, you trust me the same way I trust you: one step at a time. Deal?” I nod, reaching out my hand, “Deal. Do you need this in writing?” She chuckles as she shakes my hand, “For now this works. I think I’ll like working with you, Captain.” I smile, “Cheyanne or Zora works, Corso annoys me with saying, Captain, all the time.”

            “I have already received permission to launch, mistress,” my new droid C2-N6 states as I enter the bridge. I internally roll my eyes, nodding as I sit in the pilot’s seat with Corso hovering behind me “Thank you, Ennsix.” I rub the underside of the console, a trick I learned from Braden and  _Lady  Luck_ roars to life, automatically raising the ramp and landing gear as she does. I grin to myself,  _off we go_ , as I add Mantell as the course setting, sighing when I hear the large holo beeping, “Corso, when this, flashes, I want you to hit this button that’ll send us on our way, okay?” With his nod, I get up to answer holo terminal, wondering what Skavak did to stop it from transferring to the bridge. “Hey Tali,” I exclaim as both she and Jessi appear. “Get to your ship alright?” Jessi says in amusement. Talia nods, “T7 is ecstatic. We’re departing now.” Jessi and I chuckle as all our holoterminals beep which Tali answers as it’s the same person calling the three of us. A Republic Navy officer to appears, “Flight Commander Judin here and I’m pleased I was able to reach all of you. Afraid there’s bad news from open space. The Imperial armada’s attacking Republic assets in secret, goading us into violating the Treaty of Coruscant. Fleet Admiral Numinn has authorized the formation of the Coruscant Aegis—elite attack squadron meant to break the Imperial offensive, swiftly and quietly. I’ve been charged with leading and recruiting the member’s and each of you more than qualify.” I smirk, “I’m in. I want to be called ‘Crackerjack.’ Eh, that sounded better in my head. How about ‘Ace’?” I can tell I amused my sister as she holds back a chuckle as she says, “I’m in too, Commander.” Jess, however, doesn’t hide her amusement, as she laughs, “Same here, anything Havoc can do for the Republic.” Judin grins, “Excellent,” before turning to me, “And ‘Ace’ it is Captain Zora Tán. Knight Draé, your callsign will be, ‘Shield.’ Lieutenant Tae, yours is ‘Meteor.’ I’ll send the mission spec to each of you as I receive them. Good luck and good hunting!” ending with a sharp salute before he disappears. “Well, that was interesting,” I state, “So see you on Ord Mantell?” Jessi frowns, “Havoc won’t be. High priority mission.” I sigh but nod, “Okay. Then I’ll see you there, Tali.” Talia nods with a slight smile, “Land in the orbital station there, Ace. We’ll take a shuttle down.” I grin hearing my callsign, before doing a weak salute before both disappear. I chuckle, smiling faintly at the sound of entering hyperspace, as I head to the bridge to see the stars rushing by.

            The journey to Ord Mantell is rather long as it’s in the Mid Rim and we’re traveling from the Core. As soon as we get clearance to land in the Orbital station, I land us in a hanger next to Talia’s new ship before going and searching for Risha, “I hope you don’t mind, Risha, but we have an earlier commitment on Ord Mantell.” She shrugs, “Glad you keep your promises, Captain,” at my frown she backtracks, “sorry, Zora. We’ll be heading to Taris anyway, that’s our first delivery.” I nod, “If you’ll kindly watch the ship for me, I don’t want anyone stealing from me again and I’ll let you know when we’re back.” Risha nods turning back to stare at a man in carbonite. I frown as I walk to the airlock and down the ramp with Corso in tow, instantly spotting Tali and T7, with Kira heading back to the ship. When she and T7 stop, she wraps an arm around me, quickly glancing back at Corso, “Do you have anyone watching  _Lady_?” I frown, feeling her unease and caution, as we enter the elevator before nodding, “Don’t worry, sis.”

            The Orbital station seems even worse than the surface of the planet as we head to the shuttle docking bay. I notice Tali trying to blend in wanting to avoid unwanted attention or gossip, so I try my best to be helpful. We’re silent on the shuttle down to the surface, landing in Fort Garnik. Once we land, I break the silence, “So Corso and I have to check on a few thing’s so we’ll leave you and T7 to do the important stuff.” My sister rolls her eyes before glancing at T7, who chirps, then both head to the market district. “I thought we were helping her out, Captain?” Corso begins as soon as they’re out of earshot. I roll my eyes, “We can’t help her, Corso, what she’s doing is top secret and we’re civilians.” He swallows before heading into Viidu’s old warehouse where I’m pulled into a darkened room with a hand over my mouth. “What are you two doing here?!” a familiar feminine voice silently exclaims. I squint, forcing my eyes to adjust to the darkness faster, before seeing, “Syreena, what are you still doing here?” I hear her sigh, “I couldn’t get off world without being seen by someone unfriendly. Rogun’s got bounty hunters everywhere and now there’s Seps and Imps on the Orbital station. I can’t leave.” I grimace, “We’ll get you off. I got my ship back, do you think you can sneak onto a shuttle then onto my ship?” I see her nod, “Probably but I’ll need my stuff.” I glance out of the room where Corso is wandering around, “I’ll have Corso handle that. And I won’t tell him you’re still here, I’ll leave that for the way home. You just get there safely, okay?” She hugs me, “I left some of my stuff with Reki in Talloran. Thinking that I’d be safer there than well anywhere else.” I nod, “I’ll handle that, you just get to my ship. Do you know what it looks like?” Syreena nods, and I continue, “Good okay. I’ll go talk to Corso and you get out of here, okay?" When she nods again I exit quickly, “Hey Corso. Should you check if Syreena missed anything?” He smiles, “Yeah, I’ll do that. Maybe I can find out where Viidu is buried to pay my last respects.” I nod, trying not to glance at where I last saw Syreena, thankful she isn’t there anymore, “I’ll leave you to that then,” before quickly leaving, noticing a disguised Syreena run to the spaceport for a shuttle.

            I breathe in deeply as I head toward Talloran where it’s still blockaded off. I frown, slipping quietly into the village, drawing my blasters and putting on their silencers and shooting any Sep I come across, which is many for the small town. Once all those in the town are dealt with I run into the warehouse I last saw Reki in. I find him immediately, frowning as he looks out the window of his bedroom. I smirk, “Not expecting anyone, were you?” He jumps, drawing a blaster I didn’t know he had. He doesn’t lower the blaster as his eyes scrutinize me, “Captain?” I frown, “I’m pretty sure I told you to call me by my name,” scrunching up my nose, “and not Captain.” His face relaxes as he lowers the gun before picking me up in a hug, whispering, “Hi Cheyanne.” I grin up at him as he sets me back down, “Hi Reki! I got my ship back!” He chuckles kissing me softly, “I see that I’m guessing Syreena got a hold of you?” I nod, “She sure did alright, nearly got shot doing so.” I pause glancing out of the window, “I can’t believe the Seps still have a hold on this place.” He nods grimly, “There aren't enough people to fight them off or at least weapons to do so now. Especially since people here are starting to lose hope.” I frown, shaking my head “Well, I think if it helps I might have helped a little with clearing them out.” He grins, “So that’s your handy work down there then. I was wondering about that.” I chuckle, “Guilty as charged.” Reki chuckles, “Well, I’ll go search for Syreena’s stuff so you won’t need to be here longer than necessary.” I frown, “What if I want to be here longer.” He glances at me before shaking his head, “As much as I’d love spending more time with you. It’s safer if you leave before more Seps to come to reinforce the town.” I walk to his side, “I can I just stay a little bit longer.” He sighs glancing out the window then to the open door, “I guess a little while won’t hurt. Come on, I’ll let you meet the widows of Talloran.” I grin, kissing his cheek as we walk out of his room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            As I head back to Fort Garnik, I sorta of let the Republic know most if not all the Seps are dead and I grin as they order their men inside finally retaking the village. Thankfully I don’t look too much like a refugee with Syreena’s belongs as it's all tightly packed in a backpack I’ve put on over mine own. I get back near the warehouse at the same time as Talia and T7, just in time to hear Corso say “Yeah, just trying to find where the Capt… where Cheyanne went.” I hear Tali sigh, and I speak up “I’m right here, cowboy,” then face my sister, “You ready to go?” She nods as I walk up to her, crinkling up my nose, “You smell like blaster fire.” She grimaces, “Sorry sis, couldn’t be helped.” I grin as I roll my eyes, “Don’t worry, I do too.” I earn a frown from both Corso and Talia who glances at me as we head to the spaceport. I shrug and we fall silent until we reach the Orbital Station, where everyone is tense. Tali glances at me, making sure she isn’t the only one who senses a problem, noticing my hands are resting on my dual blasters. We don’t get an explanation until we step off the elevator to our hanger. “So, your Master was here all along. Well-played, Padawan. Your lies convinced even Darth Angral,” states a hooded Human wearing all black and holding a blood-red lightsaber to Kira’s throat. My eyes narrow as Corso and I walk around him and his men. “Put down your lightsaber and step away from my Padawan,” Tali states rather calmly, igniting one of her own, glancing at Kira, who is bound with cortanite _1_  cuffs. “Spare me your pathetic demands. I hold the power here, not you,” the Sith sneers. “Imperial Intelligence noticed this girl wandering the station and alerted my master,” he continues, “Darth Angral came from twenty parsecs away for a personal interrogation. Unfortunately, we were led to believe you weren’t here. No matter. We have you now. Surrender—unless you want your Padawan to die.” Kira rolls her eyes and something makes Talia smirk, “Release my Padawan. It’s your only way out of this.” The Sith scoffs, “I’ll never understand what drives you Jedi to throw away your lives. You risk certain death to free this girl. Why? Some misguided sense of duty?” Tali scoffs, “Jedi accept responsibility for others. Sith only care about themselves.”

            “You’re as dull as you are pointless. Let’s get this over with. When I present Darth Angral with your head, he’ll be most appreciative,” then he removes the lightsaber from Kira’s throat, which is all Corso and I were waiting for to open fire on the Sith’s entourage. The Sith growls as he charges Talia, his offhand glowing with blue Force lightning as his main arcs back as he swings first. I nearly growl when I need to focus on protecting myself instead watching my sister’s fight with the Sith. But she defeats the Sith soon after Corso and I have taken care of his soldiers. I can almost see a dark cloud hang over Tali, so I place a hand on her shoulder before pulling her towards Kira who’s still bound. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve never been happier to see anyone in my whole life,” Kira states as Tali starts to remove the cuffs. My sister chuckles, “I told you to be careful you know…” Kira chuckles, “I know and I laughed at you. I promise this won’t happen again. Getting rescued is bad for my self-confidence. We ready to go?” Her master nods as T7 once again races to their ship, causing the four of us to laugh. I hug Tali tightly, “I’ll holo you once we were out of here.” My sister nods, returning my hug before I turn to hug Kira then head back to  _Lady Luck_  with Corso in tow. Corso’s eyes widen as he sees the newcomer aboard my ship, exclaiming “Syreena! What are you doing here?!” She chuckles, glancing at me as I shake my head, “I’ll leave that for you to tell him. I’m going to get us out of this station.” I chuckle when Syreena’s eyes widen comically, like a deer in the headlights, as I walk to the bridge. When I have permission to leave, I take us out quickly, fearful but staying any longer. The holo beeps as we begin orbiting the planet, I sigh plugging in the coordinates to the navicomputer before getting up. I smile at Syreena and Corso talking in the side lounge before answering at holo, where Jessi appears. “Hey, I take it you’ve left Ord Mantell?” Jessi states trying to be chipper. I frown, “Yeah. What’s wrong, Jess? Mission didn’t go well?”

            The Cathar sighs, “It went fine. Just didn’t end the way we wanted it to.” I grimace, "Have you gotten your next assignment?” She nods, frowning at something “It’s on Taris, of all places.” I tilt my head, as I fight grimacing, “That’s apparently my next stop as well.” Jessi tries to grin but isn’t successful as she messes with something as we enter hyperspace and Talia appears, “Where are you off to now?” as soon as the Jedi’s image settles. “Taris,” Tali states simply, “the two of you?” Jessi and I share a glance as we say, “Same.” Tali sighs “Well, I’ll see you there then, huh.” Jess and I chuckle, “Seems like,” then everyone vanishes as the call ends and I turn to head to the bridge where Syreena and Corso join me. Silence reigns until we pick up a distress call that I hurriedly put on, “This is a passenger on the Starship  _Esseles_. Our ship is being followed by an Imperial dreadnought.” I grimace just as we receive a message from a ship called  _Unity_. I gather it’s Tali’s ship alerting us that they're going in to help. I sigh, glancing at Risha who is now entering the bridge, “We have another delay, Risha, sorry,” as I change our course to aid the  _Esseles_. When we drop out of hyperspace behind  _Unity_ , we see a large  _Harrower_ -class dreadnought, the _ Emperor’s Glory_, preparing to open fire at a small  _Wander_ -class transport, the  _Esseles_. The sight would be comical if not for lives aboard the Republic ship. Thankfully we come out of hyperspace close enough to the  _Esseles_  to avoid being spotted by the  _Emperor’s Glory_ ’s scanners. Corso whistles, as I grimace, “Risha and Syreena stay here and protect the ships if need be. Corso,” I pause as I glance at him. “I’m going with you, Captain,” he states simply. I sigh together we run out as soon as we land and the ramp lowers. The two Jedi are already out by the time, the rest of us join them then we begin running to the bridge, finding the woman on the holo immediately as we hear, “Warning! Warning! Incoming fire! All hands, brace for incoming! Repeat, all hands—” as the first volley of fire hits the transport, knocking all of us to the floor. Tali is the first one up, as the rest of us steadily rise as she runs to the Twi’lek passenger’s side “Ma’am, can you hear me?” I see the Twi’lek nod before Talia continues, “Are you alright?” She nods, “I am. You’re the ones who answered my call, aren’t you?” I go to Tali’s side as she nods, “We are.” The Twi’lek sighs in relief, “You need to get to the bridge. The captain will need all of the help he can get right now—go, hurry!” Jessi glances at Talia as another volley hits the ship, but this time we’re ready and we continue running to the bridge.

            As we reach the elevator to take us there, we run into two rewired power droids. Five of us share a glance, all thinking the same thing,  _there’s Imperial agents on board._  The six of us easily take them out, before going to the command deck. We enter the bridge in time to witness an electrical shock hit a Human man, who must be the captain of the ship as we hear someone exclaim, “Captain Tyrus!” Then another smaller male Human runs to kneel at his side, “Come on, Tyrus! You can make it, sir, you can make it!” Causing another man to say, “He’s gone, sir. You’re in charge now—what are our orders?” Making it clear that the kneeling man is, well was the First Officer, now Captain of this ship. “Your orders? Our weapons are out, shields are out, comms are out! There’s nothing we can do!” Talia clears her throat, and I can feel the aura of peace surrounding her, “Panicking won’t help, Captain.” The new captain turns abruptly before walking quickly towards us, “Who asked you? We’re in the middle of a situation here, the bridge is off-limits.” The sensible one, Navigator Plex, intervenes, “Sir, we need all the help we can get. If we don’t keep it together here, we’re finished.” Haken, the new captain, turns to him, “Keep what together? The Imperials have us by the throat! We’re as good as dead already.” I frown, “What’s wrong with you? Are you really going to let your ship fall to the Imperials so easily?” Haken scoffs, pointing to the  _Emperor’s Glory  _in the viewport, “That ship behind us is one of the biggest in the Imperial fleet. We didn’t stand a chance.” Thankfully the communications officer, Raste, interrupts him, “Sir! Incoming message—the Imperial ship is hailing us!” I frown,  _why are we being hailed now?_ “What?” Haken exclaims before seemingly coming to his senses, “Oh. Well, put them on.”

            “Republic Transport Esseles,” says a vaguely familiar Imperial voice, “This is Grand Moff Rycus Kilran. Your defenses are entirely disabled. Attempt no resistance.” Jessi steps closer as she speaks, “We are aware of our situation, Kilran. Just tell us why you’re here.” Kilran chuckles, “So feisty. Your ship is transporting a known anti-Imperial terrorist and seditionist: the so-called ‘Ambassador’ Vyn Asara. I’ve come to collect her.” Haken says, “Who? We didn’t take on any passengers by that name. I’ve never even heard of this person!” Kilran scoffs, “Interesting. Lying or incompetent? No matter. My agents aboard your ship have confirmed the ambassador is there.” I slightly smirk,  _thank you for that,_  as Corso says, “You have spies on our ship?” Kilran smirks, “I have eyes everywhere. Imperial soldiers are preparing to board your ship through it primary airlock. My agents will ensure that you do not interfere with them. If you attempt to stop my men from arresting Ambassador Asara, I will have every living thing aboard the Esseles killed.” With that, he disappears and I nearly growl as Jessi does. “Where’s the primary airlock?” Kira states, “We’ll stop the Imperials as they try to board.” Plex says, “Weren’t you listening? If we try to fight, they’ll slaughter us! We have to cooperate!” Haken shakes his head, “It won’t matter. Kilran has us, now. He’ll kill us all—he’s famous for it. The only one he wants alive is the ambassador,” apparently Kilran calmed him now making him the ‘voice of reason,’ “If Kilran gets the ambassador while we’re sitting in his sights, we’re goners. Those soldiers have to be stopped before they can succeed.” Talia nods, “We’ll ensure that no Imperial soldiers make it aboard this ship.” Haken slightly smiles, “It’s brave of all of you to volunteer. Listen—I’m sorry I lost it earlier. It means a lot to have your help right now. Thank you.” All of us nod, as Talia glances at Kira, “We enjoy a challenge.” Kira smiles as Haken continues, “Well you’ll sure have one. I’ll have our security team meet you by the primary airlock. They haven’t seen much action, but Commander Narlock knows his stuff. Good luck. We’re all counting on you.” We nod in parting before running to the elevator that’ll take us to the docking level. Sadly, we meet resistance in the form of several Imperial agents which are rather easily handled and we continue to the elevator then run to meet up with Narlock and his team of three fresh security guards.

            “This is it, men,” we hear as we exit the elevator, “This is what you’ve been training for. The Imperials are coming, and we’re not going to let them past, are we?” We then hear three voices say, “Sir, no, sir!” Narlock continues, “And we aren’t fighting alone! Experienced volunteers,” pause slightly to point to us, “are going to help us—the Imps won’t stand a chance!” Jessi walks forward, saluting him sharply, “My Squad is at your service, Commander.” Narlock’s eyes slightly widen as he sees the patch on her armor, as well as the two Jedi and their lightsabers. “Do you hear that, men? Our friends here are going to chop through these Imps like nothing! The Imps will cut through any second now—we need to take up defensive positions.” The men nod then run into their positions, just as five Imperials cut through: a large Lieutenant and four simple soldiers. The security guards easily take down the soldiers with help from Corso and Jorgan, just leaving the rather menacing lieutenant. He’s smart not letting the Jedi get close to him, but is still taking heavy fire from us. I notice Kira disappear with help from the Force and the fight becomes short-lived as a green blade goes thru his chest. When his body falls, the men start cheering, “Hah! Victory! We’ve done it, men, we’ve done it! The ship is saved!”

            “I’m sorry, Commander, but that… that isn’t the case,” says a very familiar voice belonging to the Rutian Twi’lek that called us here. “You’re Ambassador Asara, aren’t you?” She nods, “I am. But that’s not important right now—we have a serious problem. First officer Haken walked us right into a trap. The attack on this airlock was a ruse. After Haken sent you here, Mandalorians snuck aboard, they were led by a Mandalorian mercenary called ‘Ironfist’.” Tali and I both pale slightly as Corso says, “We defeated the first group of boarders—there’s no reason we can’t defeat this group, too.” Jessi shakes her head as Jorgan’s fists tighten as Asara says, “It gets worse, I’m afraid. Ironfist and his Mandalorians stormed the bridge, and now the entire area is locked down tight.” Kira frowns, “Then we have to stop the Imperials from gaining control of the ship!” Asara nods, “That’s why I rushed to find you. Something has to be done.” Narlock frowns, “What is this all about? Why are the Imperials so desperate to capture you?” She sighs, “Because of my work. I’m a Republic Ambassador. I travel to Imperial controlled planets and convince their government to come over to our side.” Kira whistles as her master says, “Confronting the Empire for sake of diplomacy takes a lot of courage.” She scoffs slightly, “I’m no hero. I just show them an alternative to Imperial control. But we can talk about my work later.” Narlock nods, “We need to retake the bridge. The longer we leave the Imps in control, the harder it will be to remove them.” Asara sighs, “I already told you, Ironfist has the bridge locked down There’s no way in or out.” Narlock frowns, crossing his arms, “A security lockdown…that’s bad. Chief Engineer Salen might know of a workaround.” Jessi frowns now too, “You’re the security commander—don’t you have the authority to cancel the lockdown?” He shakes his head, “The bridge lockdown can’t be canceled from the outside. No, it’s Salen or nothing. He and his team will be down in the engineering section. I’m sure they’ll be able to help us.” We nod as Asara says, “We’ll need a diversion. If the Imperial notice the hatches to engineering opening, they’ll flood the area with soldiers.” Narlock nods, “My men and I can handle that. Form up, men! We’re going to start some trouble!” We nod in agreement as Narlock continues, “We’ll give those Imps something to think about, won’t we, boys?” Asara rolls her eyes, “I’ll go along with Commander Narlock. Once you’ve cleared a path to engineering, I’ll double-back and join up with you there. Good luck.” On the way to Engineering, we fight three assault pods dispatching sabotage droids as well as slicer droids. We also deal with Imperial infiltrators on the Engineering deck. Once we reach where Salen should be, Kira walks up to the console that controls the large blast door separating us from Salen and his team revealing a force field.

            “Whoa,” one of the crewmen said, “You’re Jedi! Chief! Hey, Chief! Look, there’s Jedi out there!” An older man approaches the field, “You must be crazy, coming all the way down here with the Imps everywhere.” Tali sighs, “Commander Narlock said that you might know of a way to unlock the bridge. The Imperials have it sealed off.” The older man, Salen, rubs his face, “The Imps pulled the lockdown? You’ve got to be kidding me,” finishing just as I hear footsteps from behind me, Asara. “You really cleared this place out. I didn’t run into a single Imperial on my way down here. Listen—there’s no time to waste. Commander Narlock and his men are being overrun—we have to get the bridge unlocked now.” Salen frowns, “So I’ve heard. I’d invite you in, but the lockdown has our doors sealed, too.” I fight a chuckle as Tali asks, “Are you going to be safe in there? Do you need help getting out?” Salen shakes his head, “Getting the bridge back in our control is much more important. Now let’s see…” The crewman who first saw us says, “What about a reactor reset? That would disengage the security locks, wouldn’t it, sir?” Salen nods, “Yeah, but a reactor reset vents the engineering compartment—we’d be blown into space. Besides, controls are on the other side of the door.” I grimace,  _well that’s not an option_ , as Tali asks, “What else could we do to open up the bridge?” Salen tilts his head, thinking, “The secondary conduits. If they’re all off, the security will go down, too. Then we’ll be in business. They’re spread around a bit, but a droid could shut them a down at once. But we don’t have any droids on board so you’ll have to shut them all down manually.” I notice Talia glancing at Kira, slightly smirking, “That’ll work.” But Asara shakes her head, “There’s no time to go running around all over this ship. If we don’t act now, the Imperial will overwhelm us.” My eyebrows knit together as Tali chuckles, “Don’t worry. We’ve got this covered,” as she reaches for something, “Teeseven did you hear all that?” I hear an affirmative chirp, and Tali’s answering chuckle as she glances at Salen, “Can my droid shut it down from anywhere?” Salen nods, “Yeah, then all you’ll have to do is override the bridge’s auxiliary power conduit.” She nods, her smirk returning, “We’ll make our way back up to the command deck. Once we reach it, T7 will shut the conduits down and we’ll storm the bridge.” Asara swallows, “That’s better than the alternative. I’d don’t know where I’d be if you hadn’t come. Probably locked in an Imperial prison or worse. I’ll go and help Narlock with another diversion. So, you have as little resistance as possible when you attack the bridge. You’ll still have to deal with Ironfist, though. And that’s no small challenge.” Kira frowns slightly, “What do you know about him?” Asara sighs, “I only know Ironfist by his reputation, but he’s been doing Grand Moff Kilran’s dirty work for a long time now. He’s never been captured, defeated or even driven back. You have your work cut out for you.” Jessi smirks slightly, “That’s because he hasn’t met us yet.” Asara slightly smiles, “Just be careful. Mandalorians always have a few tricks up their sleeves. Alright, no more time to waste,” pausing to touch to comm on her earcone, “Narlock, are you there? Can you hear me?”

            “Copy, this is Narlock! Set for second offensive?” comes Narlock’s voice over Asara’s comm. She nods, “That’s right, Commander. I’m on my way to join you now,” she let’s go of her earcone, “Narlock and I will do our best to keep Ironfist distracted. Good luck,” then she runs the way she came, heading back to the security team. We go the roundabout way to the command deck, first going to the elevator to the Port Hangar deck. This time it’s Mandalorians we clear out, meaning that’s where Ironfist made his entrance. Thankfully where we landed our ships is on the opposite side of where they landed. Once the floor is cleared we then go to the elevator that’ll take us to the Command deck, where even more Mandalorians are waiting. Once they’re dealt with, Kira heads to the conduit to shut down the auxiliary power while T7 shuts off the secondary conduits. Immediately the barrier blocking us from the bridge shuts down and we see Haken and his crew are restrained with blasters pointed at their heads. The only helmetless Mando starts slowly clapping as he rises from his chair as we get closer and my blood almost runs cold, Ironfist. “Well, well. I was wondering when you’d finally show up,” Ironfist says as he’s now facing us, “This is it? There aren’t more of you?” Jessi glances at me as I confidently say, “Just give up, Ironfist. We don’t want to hurt you or your men.” Ironfist chuckles, “Strange view of the situation,” as he glances at Haken and his crew, “Guess you’d have to be a little crazy to put up the fight you have. Let’s vape these worthless scum and get back to work.” Talia and I glance at each other as both Jedi ignite their lightsabers, then both my sister and I attack his men first, letting the others attack Ironfist. Once they’re dealt with, Tali joins Kira on the melee attack while we, the distance fighters, shoot. Finally, we begin tiring him, and his defenses start crumbling allowing Talia to drive a lightsaber into his heart.

            “You did it!” Haken exclaims as Corso relieves them of their stun cuffs. “First Officer Haken,” Asara says as she and Narlock enter the bridge, “Do you have any spare shuttles in the hanger bay?” Haken nods, slightly frowning, “Spare shuttles? Yes, we do, but I don’t…” Asara interrupts him while turning to us, “Then that’s our only chance. You have to board the  _Emperor’s Glory_  and disable the tractor beam so that we can all escape.” We all glance at each other, “If this is what must be done to save the people on this ship, we’ll do it.” Asara smiles, “I knew we could count on you. I’ve been aboard warships like his. The tractor beam controls should be easy to find, if you know where you’re going.” Haken tilt’s his head, “Ambassador, you’re familiar with the layout, perhaps you should go along to help get the tractor beam shut down.” Asara tilts her head as well, thinking it thru before nodding, “Hmm. We need every advantage we can get.” Jessi nods, “It will be good to have you along, Ambassador.” Asara smiles, “I’ll do my best to help in any way I can.” Narlock cuts in, “Ambassador, before you go—take a spare uniform. We wouldn’t want any Imperials to recognize you.” Asara nods, “Good thinking, Commander—thank you. Now let’s get moving,” then both her and Narlock walk away. “Good luck out there,” Haken states as he salutes, “We’re all counting on you.” We nod, Havoc returns his salute before we head to the elevator, where we’re stopped once more. “Hey!” Haken yells running up behind us, “Hold up a minute. I need to talk to you before you go. I just talked to Salen from engineering. He told me what options you had down there. Thank you for coming when you did, I’m not sure how much longer we would of… anyway, we owe you are lives. I’ve held you up for too long already, good luck.” Then he turns around and walks back to the bridge. Jessi tilt’s her head once the elevator starts moving, “He had me worried there for a moment…” Corso frowns, “Why? You thought he’d ask you to do something bad…” I nod hesitantly, “Like leaving Asara on the Imperials ship, since he brought her into the little plan.” Corso frowns, “He wouldn’t have asked that. She’s a passenger on his ship…” Talia chuckles darkly, “Think about it, Corso. The only reason Kilran is attacking the  _Esseles_  is because of her. He might think that leaving her would mean that Kilran would not bother them again on this trip.” Corso shakes his head furiously as we head to the shuttle with T7 joining us, “I don’t believe it.” Kira sighs as Jorgan says, “I can. What’s best for many outweighs the needs of a few.” Corso scoffs, “I refuse to think like that, so it doesn’t matter.” I glance at him, rolling my eyes, “Two words, Cowboy. Mantellian Stronghold.” Corso pales slightly, “That doesn’t count.”

            “Come on we have to hurry,” a disguised Asara says once we’ve exited the shuttle, “First, you need to disable the power station then you can deactivate the tractor beam.” We nod then run out of the hanger, removing all resistance, which is mostly droids so it’s mildly concerning as it should be soldiers, along our way to the left of the hanger bay since waste disposal is on the right. Since we’re on the Maintenance Deck, we need to go up to the engineering deck where the power station is. After removing the threats, getting soldiers finally, T7 goes to turn off the power conduit while making false alarms in other decks as well as deleting data on the Esseles and Asara. When he’s done, we hear, “Well. I’ve seen some incredible things in my time, but you’ve just topped the list,” from a familiar Imperial voice behind us, Kilran. We turn now facing the holographic him as he continues, “I’m sorry I couldn’t greet you in person—if you had let me know you were stopping by.” Jessi frowns crossing her arms, “Your taunts are useless. This won’t stop until the  _Esseles_  is free.” He sighs, “You sadden me. I can only be cordial through so much. My men will be along shortly to escort you to the accommodations I’ve arranged.” Jorgan snorts, “Your men wouldn’t stop us, Kilran.” The Grand Moff chuckles, “You greatly overestimate your chances. Ironfist wasn’t the only weapon in my arsenal—nor the deadliest. See you soon.” When he disappears, Jessi growls and we make our way thru the rest of the deck since it’s connected to the power core where the tractor beam controls are. And true to his word, we have more Imperial soldiers mixed in with the droids as well as dreadnought battledroids. For some extra damage to the ship, we shut off the two power consoles which causes a large droid, an ISS-994 Power Droid to be exact, to emerge on the other side of the power core where we’ll make our getaway. First, before we do that, we must defeat the large droid, an ISS-7 Guardian Battledroid, blocking us from the tractor beam controls.

            The fight is rather short with two Jedi, T7, Havoc, Corso and of course me. When T7 shuts down the controls, giving it an electric charge to be safe, we hear Kilran’s voice, “I hope you realize this is getting out of hand. You’re leaving me with precious few options.” We chuckle as we run to fight the ISS-994 power droid, ending it quickly as well before heading the elevator to go down to the detention level, where we’ll hopefully find our escape route back to the shuttle. Kilran is upping the number of soldiers in our path back, so he must be letting desperate which is both good and bad. He’ll make more mistakes this way but will be far more lethal but at least we are waning his numbers down but like Haken said, this is one of the largest ships in the Imperial fleet. As we run thru the waste collection level, Kilran speaks again, “I don’t want to do anything drastic. But I will. Surrender. Now.” We roll our eyes before grimacing knowing how we’ll reach the hangar, thru the waste disposal. Slowing we manage to drop out into the garbage masher quickly finding the door out and disposing of the droids and soldiers in our way, then we hear Kilran speak once more, “Very well. You give me no other choice.” My heart plummets when I notice there’s more guard’s blocking the hanger we arrived in as well as a red force field blocking us, but that’s not the worst thing, that is there’s a Sith heading towards us. I notice Tali glances at both Kira and I, as we are paling slightly, which causes Jessi to groan, “A Sith?” Talia nods once and the Cathar grimaces before opening fire on the five soldiers blocking us from the force field, as the others follow suit. Once we reach the force field we see the Sith enter with four Imperial soldiers in white armor. The three security guards from a protective arc around Asara, pointing their blasters towards to newcomers. I stifle a gasp as the hooded Sith, instantly flings the first one into a nearby wall causing the other two to run back towards the shuttle leaving Asara alone but she stands her ground raising her own blaster. The Sith then force chokes him until he grows tired of the guard’s gasps and throws his red lightsaber into his heart and summons it back, causing Asara to stumble back in fear. I know T7 is working hard to lower the force field but in that moment my emotions get the best of me. I tell T7 to back away before I shoot the controls multiple times until we hear the force field drop. By then the Sith is Force choking Asara, forcing her to float in the air two feet above the floor. I can feel his disgusting amusement and pleasure as he drops her and turns to face us, his smirk glowing.

            “Greetings,” it—he begins, his skin deathly grey and his eyes blood red, corrupted by the dark side, “At last—real, live Jedi. How I’ve looked forward to this. I am Vokk. A true Sith cannot go long without a true challenge.” Kira smirks “Well, you’ve got one,” as she ignites her green saberstaff. Vokk chuckles, “To destroy dangerous foes… that is the way of a true Sith. When I carve your hearts from your chests, your fellow Jedi will sense your defeat. As will my master.” Talia answers, “Give up your hatred. Feel the power of the light.” Vokk scoffs, “The light is weak, insignificant just like you,” I tilt my head at that,  _didn’t you just call us dangerous foes?_... as he continues, “The power of the dark side is infinite…are you ready to face oblivion?” Tali groans, “I’d hoped you would turn back from this madness. But you give us no other choice.” Vokk scoff once more, “I had hoped for a Jedi who could provide a true challenge!” I internally roll my eyes as he attacks, Havoc, Corso and I instantly fire on the soldiers he brought with him, leaving the Jedi to fight the Sith. Once the soldiers are finished, I quickly glance the fighting Jedi and Sith knowing it’s better to stay out of it, and I joining Jessi in lightly patching up the guards, leaving Corso and Jorgan to deal with lifeless then helping them all into the shuttle. As we do, Kilran speaks one last time, “I’m charging up our main turbo lasers batteries. In a few moments, your pathetic ship and all your pathetic friends will be nothing but floating debris.”

            ‘// T7 = sabotaged weapon power // T7 + Talia + Friends = escape now //’ T7 beeps happily racing into the shuttle. We glance at each other before running to follow the astromech onboard. The ride back to the ship is uneventful as the turbo laser is still charging and for some reason, Kilran is still focusing his firepower on the  _Esseles_ , so we safely land inside. We then run to the elevator impatiently waiting for it to take us to the command deck then run to the bridge, where we meet with Haken who immediately turns, “Everyone’s aboard Plex! Get us out of here, now!” and we begin to breathe easy as the  _Emperor’s Glory_  disappears as we enter hyperspace. Haken turns to us, “We’re safe! You did it—you did what no one else could have done. You’ve saved us all. We owe all of you our lives… every one of us. So, on behalf of the passengers and crew of the Republic transport  _Esseles_ , thank you.” Talia chuckles, glancing at each member of the group, “We were only doing what was right.” Haken chuckles, “There’s no reason for modesty. What you accomplished here is truly amazing. I took up a collection from everyone on the ship—hopefully, these credits will help you save other people in need, the same way you’ve saved us.” When Talia opens her mouth to protest, Haken raises his hand, “I insist you take it, master Jedi.” She sighs as we chuckle and Asara walks up, “Thank you for everything you’ve done here. The Republic needs heroes like all of you now more than ever.” Talia shakes her head, “We wouldn’t have been here to help if you hadn’t of put out that distress call, Asara. This is all thanks to you.” Haken’s eyes widen, “You called them here, Ambassador?” She shrugs, “When I heard we were being followed by an Imperial battleship, I put out a distress call and they answered it.” Haken’s eyes flick to us, “Then we are even more in your debt.” I chuckle “No, you are not.” He shakes his head, “Where were you off too?” Jessi answer, “Taris.” Haken nods, smiling, “Just where we’re going. Plex, have you set our course to Taris?” The navigation officer nods, “Yes sir.” Haken nods, turning towards us, “Once we’re out of hyperspace, your ships are free to disembark until then you are our most vital passengers. Enjoy yourselves.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reki and Syreena reappear, hope you enjoyed their return. Syreena will be a more frequent character as the story goes since both Cheyanne and Corso are rather fond of her and Cheyanne needs a good friend, who will be more understanding of her choices.  
> ==========================  
> 1-5 | Ord Mantell   
> 6-8 | Coruscant  
> 9 | Interlude  
> 10-11 | Taris  
> 12-… | Nar Shaddaa  
> ==========================  
> Hope ya'll enjoy it and sorry for any mistakes.  
> Positive feedback is greatly appreciated!  
> -~=~-~=~-~=~-~=~-~=~-  
> 1) cortanite = a metal that blocks Force sensitives from using the Force if they are touching it  
> -~=~-~=~-~=~-~=~-~=~-


	10. A New Search

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Underlined words are 'translated' into Basic [English]*  
> *See notes at the end of the chapter to learn the meanings of the superscript words*  
> *Underlined and italicized words are ship names*  
> Sorry for the long postless period... What can I say Holidays and forgetfulness... Anyway, enjoy the chapter. And Happy 'May the Fourth!'

=-=-=-=-=-=

            The journey to Taris was smooth and uneventful, at least in the violence category, as the  _Esseles_  crew and passengers did everything in their power to thank us. None of us were ever alone, someone always either staring at us or thanking us profusely. It was getting very obnoxious, some deeming to go stay in their ship and never leave, Jorgan, others enjoyed the attention, Corso and strangely T7. Kira, Talia, Jessi and myself plus Syreena and Risha tended to enjoy the things the crew did to relax us: spa days, massages, etc. all free. The crew even made sure no one would bother us during those times, much to our enjoyment so we were able to convince the grumpy cat, Jessi’s words, to join us. But we were all thankful when we neared our destination, all of us eagerly waiting in our ships, waiting for clearance to disembark. Once we receive it, the three ships disembark like we’re fearing they’ll revoke it, breathing a sigh of relief once the murky green and tan planet is seen from our bridges. Risha walks in, sitting in the seat next to me, as I bring us closer to the murky world. “Ah, Taris,” Risha begins, “Did you know we’re landing on the biggest graveyard in the galaxy? There’s not much here besides skeletons, ruins, and man creating creatures.” Corso’s eyes widen comically, “What!? Captain, are you sure we want to land here?” I roll my eyes, as I land us in the spaceport, “Yes, Corso. Now was there a point to that, Risha?” Risha smirks, “Just wanting to make sure you are up for it,” she glances back at the farm boy, “Taris was ‘The Coruscant of the Outer Rim’ until some lunatic leveled it centuries ago. Now it’s a toxic swamp.” I nod knowing the story, _lunatic is the right word for Malek._  Risha looks mildly impressed that I’m not asking thousands of questions like Corso seems to want, as she and I share an exasperated look before she continues, “We’re here for an astrogation chart that was in a vault when Taris fell. That vault’s somewhere in these ruins.” I frown, not liking the sound of this, “Let me guess, I’m going to have to narrow it down?” Risha chuckles, ignoring the question, “Our lost vault was designed to be recovered after a major catastrophe. All we need are the right sensors to locate it. The catch is, the only person I know with access to those sensors is someone who hates me.”

            “I smell a good story!” I say singsongy. Risha’s eyes narrow slightly, “Let’s just say she and I have a ‘history’… which I might tell you when I know you better. I made our contact an irresistible offer. One of the deal’s terms is that she doesn’t have to see me. I need you to get that vault’s location, Zora. Impress the stars out of her.” I chuckle as the three of us, Corso, Risha and myself walk to the airlock, “Good thing people always tell me how impressive I am.” Behind me, Corso chuckles mumbling something under his breath as Risha smirks, “That must be a terrible burden for you. I should also warn you, Skavak knows about the vault. We can’t let him catch up.” I smirk,  _it’s a race then_ , outwardly I say, “Relax, this is me we’re talking about.” Risha chuckles, rolling her eyes slightly, “And I have every confidence in you—well, almost every. The astrogation chart in that vault is essential to finding Nok Drayen’s riches, Zora. Your contact’s name is Beryl Thorne. When Beryl gives you the vault’s location, come back and see me,” as the airlock opens, and Corso and I step out. I laugh when she finishes with, “Oh, and try not to let anything eat you!” Corso freezes, looking slightly worried. I slap him on the back, “Don’t worry, cowboy, she’s just teasing.” He sighs relieved, so I grudgingly continue, “The only creature to worry about is the one that turns you into them.” His face falls, as he glances at me, “You’re teasing me, right?” I shake my head, “Nope. Called Rakghouls, been here since before the bombardment. No cure as now.” He swallows just as I see someone, well multiple someones, walk towards us. I don’t like how one of them is staring at my ship, the one leading the others. He smirks, when he notices my gaze, “I’m Agent Soganti with the Republic Customs Offices. What brings you to my planet, Captain Zora Tán?” I frown, “Last time I checked, Taris was Republic territory.” Soganti chuckles slightly, “When you have as many responsibilities as I do, you develop a sense of ownership about a planet. The Republic Customs Office monitors all starship traffic and ensures no illegal goods are transported on or off this planet. There’s a lot of contraband making its way around Taris. If you see anything suspicious, I suggest you report it immediately.”

            “And how will I know what’s suspicious or not, Agent?” I ask, not liking where this is going one bit.  _Is our contact in trouble or something? Or does this have something to do with Skavak._  Soganti smirks slightly, “That’s right, you have,” his eyes running down my body, resting slightly on the two blasters strapped to my hips, “’Solid citizen’ written all over you.” He pauses as he walks closer, when around me, “I take a special interest in every new arrival to my planet, Captain. Keep your nose clean,” he continues, “and we won’t have any trouble. Clear?”  _Crystal,_  “Do you give this speech to everyone?”  _cause I don’t see you doing this to the newly arrived Havoc or Talia._ He shakes his head, it takes me a second to remember he didn’t read my mind, as he says, “Just the ones I think need to hear it.” I snort internally,  _can’t see him giving this talk to Skavak. The one who actually would need it!_  He thankfully remains in the dark on my thoughts, as he continues, “Enjoy your visit to Taris,” and he and his men leave. Corso whistles as they walk away, “Something tells me its personal, Captain. We better stay on our toes.” I roll my eyes at him, out of his view of course, as we go down the elevator, where once we’ve stepped off we see Havoc. We’re reunited with Talia, T7, and Kira once we entered the spaceport’s main room that overlooks where the ships come into land. Shortly after that is when we’re met by a larger gentleman, who stops us with a raised hand.

            “Hold a minute, please,” Bardo from his nametag says, turning to another man, “Strom?” Strom looks up a scanner to all of us, “Scanning… ID confirmed. This is the group.” I glance at the other’s, noticing their just as clueless as I am, as Bardo nods and begins, “Welcome to Taris, Master Jedi, Lieutenant, Captain. Apologies for the delay, but Governor Saresh requests your help with some… security issues on the reconstruction project.” Talia frowns, “If there’s anything we can do to help protect your people,” hesitating slightly to glance at Jessi and myself, we both nod, “We’ll do it.” Bardo sighs, “Thank you. Taris is substantially more… hazardous than initial reports had suggested. The specifics aren’t common knowledge off-world, but…” Strom continues from there, “But we’re trying to rebuild a planet covered with toxic junk and diseased, carnivorous monsters and it ain’t working.” Bardo glances at him, narrowing his eyes, “Ahem. Governor Saresh has plans to alleviate some of these issues, but they require highly skilled individuals to carry out, individuals like yourselves.” Jessi answers, “We’ll be glad to pitch in,” T7 chirps an affirmative behind Tali. “Terrific!” Bardo exclaims, “The governor will want to go over the plans with you in detail—I’ll let her know to expect you right away. Good luck.” Strom nods, “Your help will make a big difference to the people here. Thanks.” We all nod before continuing to make our way out of the spaceport, hearing “Welcome to Taris,” from a hologram of a green Twi’leki woman, “I’m Governor Saresh.” Now curious we stop in front of it, wondering just what Saresh will say. “On behalf of the Galactic Republic,” Saresh continues, “I want to thank you for joining us in this historic project. For your safety, please do not travel beyond the military-secured safe zone outside the settlement. This world and our work here will shine as a beacon of hope to all the Republic. But first, we have many obstacles to overcome. Together, we stand taller than any obstacle. Let’s get to work—together.” Beside me, Kira whistles, whispering “Wow, she likes to hear herself talk, doesn’t she?” I chuckle, “Glad you said that and not me.” I see Tali roll her eyes at us as we head outside, hearing a rather loud argument between a Human trooper and two others, a large man and a petite woman. The man seems to be the only one arguing.

            “We’ve been waiting weeks! And those things are still swarming our property while you, sorry excuses for defenders of the Republic, sunning yourself on the base,” we hear the man exclaim, pointing and glaring at the trooper. Talia and I both glance at Jessi as she growls before marching move there. My sister and I share a glance before we run to catch up with her as the trooper responds rather calmly, but is clearly frustrated, “This is a military operation, sir. This planet hasn’t been cleared for civilian occupancy.” The young woman responds just as calmly, trying to soothe feathers, “My brother didn’t mean to be insulting,” ending with a glare when her brother opens his mouth to retort, “But for three centuries, our family has dreamt of reclaiming our place on Taris. And now to be stopped by those things…” She cuts off as we approach, and Tali asks, “What’s this all about?” The trooper glances at us, “Their old estate’s off base, so we got no way to secure it.” The woman’s brother scoffs, slightly glaring at the trooper, sounding more like a spoiled ‘noble’ who’s never been told no, “Taris is our home. We’re not going to wait until the army takes its pick of the planet and throws us the scraps!” The Jedi Knight sighs as Jessi growls once more, as his sister continues, “The Republic validated our records. But some outlaws set up a camp there—they’ve got security droids all around the perimeter.” Tali frowns glancing at the trooper, who’s frowning too, “From what I’ve heard it is dangerous outside the base. If you go out there, there’s no guarantee that the Republic can help you,” she raises her hand when the spoiled—when the man opens his mouth, “If you really must return to your estate, insulting the men who will help you, is not a smart way to go. They have a much bigger task ahead of them than making sure a single estate is cleared but we’ll see what we can do to help.” The man frowns as his sister smiles, “Thank you. We will be in your debt,” as the trooper sends us the coords to the Poh estate. Jessi and I can tell that Tali is about to object, so after a quick glance, we force her to walk away. “We’ll meet up with you at the office,” I say once we’ve reached Beryl’s warehouse farther up the road, which we enter.

            As we enter we hear a woman exclaim, “Argo, you’re leaking oil again! You wanna set this whole warehouse on fire?!” I chuckle as we make our way through the warehouse, avoiding large black puddles as the droid, Argo answers, “The Maker said it is better to burn out than rust away. Perhaps I’m testing that wisdom, Mistress.” He finishes just as I stop behind the two of them, “I’m looking for Beryl Thorne?” The woman sighs as she turns around, “That’s me. Argo’s what passes for my second-in-command. I recognize you from Risha’s holo. Let’s get one thing straight. The only reason I agreed to help is because my contract supplying the Taris reclamation project is at risk. Looked like easy credits. Turns out, Taris is anything but easy, and there are lots of interesting ways to die.” I shrug, “As long as you’re breathing, you’re still in business.” Beryl snorts, “Some business. I’m barely covering my own expenses. If I don’t finish my contract, I don’t get paid. Tryodall—my partner—died on a supply run. Put me in a real bind. I’ll find that vault, but I have to finish my contract to do it. You work for me and I’ll work for you. Deal?” Corso snorts, “Can’s your walking rust bucket handle things?” I nearly groan as Beryl scoffs, “Not a chance. The scavengers would be on Argo like gundraks on fresh meat. I only have two deliveries left. Soon as you handle them, we’ll find your vault. The first job’s for a Republic scientist named Vernan. He’s got a research camp in Rakghoul territory.” Corso chuckles slightly, “You should take that comedy act on tour.” I facepalm as Beryl answers, “I wish I was joking. Don’t know how anyone lives with those man-eaters all around. I’ll start working on your job while you handle mine. Isn’t cooperation grand?” _She finishes just as a familiar face walks up, “Hello again, Captain. I didn’t know you and Thorne were acquainted.”_  I glance at Beryl seeing her frown, “Agent Soganti, what a lovely surprise. It’s only been a day since your last inquisition—I mean, inspection. Don’t you Republic Customs boys have better things to do than turn my warehouse upside-down again?” I grimace, shooting her a look of sympathy as Soganti says, “I can inspect this warehouse whenever I want. It’s the law,” before turning to his men and nodding. Beryl rolls her eyes and steps aside, stopping beside me, “Take Doctor Vernan’s delivery, Captain. There’s no reason for you to stick around.” I chuckle, whispering just loud enough for Soganti to hear, “Have fun with Agent Fancypants.” I slightly smirk when his eyes narrow, “You’re a regular comedian. Maybe I’ll find a reason to keep you around, so you can make me laugh all the time.” I fight an eye roll as Beryl says, “Poke around the warehouse all you want, agent. You won’t find anything out of order.” Both of us, have to suppress and laugh as Soganti steps right into a dark puddle. As Corso and I start walking away, I hear the Customs agent groan, “Ehhh… what did I just step it, Thorne?” Argo responds, “My apologies, sir, I believe that is my hydraulic fluid…” that’s the last thing we hear, and I fight off a laughing fit as we search for the Jedi and Havoc. It’s Talia, Kira, and T7 we find first, it wasn’t all that difficult as the three are standing outside a tent surrounded by a swarm of people, refugees by the look of them. As we get closer I can hear the youngest, a girl younger than I, exclaim, “All of you back off! We do this one at a time, or nobody get anything!” before turning to the Jedi and T7, “This, uh… this could take a while. Are you still in?” The Jedi glance at each other, and I decide to make my presence known with, “What will take a while?”

            “Helping these refugees,” Talia states, surprised that even more join the group enclosing them, “they don’t have anything with them.” I sigh, as I fight my way through the sea of people, my eyes raking over each person, “We’re in.” Tali chuckles as the group cheers and Kira says, “Just—everyone can’t talk at once.” T7 chirps in agreement and Tali says, “How about this each of you choose one thing for us to get and put it in a list and we’ll see what we can do.” The group cheers again, beginning to huddle around a person with a datapad as we begin to walk away. I wrap an arm around my oldest sister, “You’re a bleeding heart you know.” Tali grimaces as Kira states, “It started off with just one person then people started appearing. It’s not our fault, they overheard.” I glance at her, amused, “So it’s your fault too?!” Corso cuts in at that, “Captain?! I think it’s great!” I glare at the back of his head, “I was teasing, cowboy. I agreed to do it, too!” I notice the Jedi share a look as Corso tries to climb out the hole he’s dug himself into, stumbling for words. Havoc joins us just as we reach Saresh’s office, and together we enter hoping Saresh hasn’t been waiting too long. “… I’m sure it would work if we had the manpower, but we don’t. The numbers just aren’t on our side,” we hear a man say as we enter followed by a scoff as Saresh answers sounding every bit like her holo in the spaceport, “Success isn’t in the numbers, Chief. We don’t need more people—we need the right people,” finishing as her lavender eyes fall on us. I hear Talia swallow, “Excuse us but we were told to speak with Governor Saresh.” She smiles, “Bardo and Strom found you after all, good. Thank you for coming, I’m Governor Saresh. And this here is my unbelieving Chief of Operations Orsen Trig. Our goal on Taris is straightforward: rebuild everything the Sith destroyed, and remind the galaxy that the Republic never gives up. But resources are tight, and we have some serious challenges: toxic chemical spills, scavenging pirates and…the wildlife.” It’s then that Orsen Trig stands to address us, “Rakghouls—one bad bite can turn you into a vicious monster just like them. There’s thousands out there… maybe even millions.” Jessi asks, “Where do these creatures come from? How did they get here?” I grimace, the question of the ages, as Trig answers, “No one’s totally sure. They were here before the Sith bombardment, and their numbers have only grown since then.” Saresh nods, “The Rakghouls use tunnels buried in the ruins to attack by surprise and overwhelm our soldiers. Every work crew we send out is decimated. We came here to achieve the greatest reconstruction project in Republic history. Instead, the workers hide in this outpost like frightened children. No more.” I ask, “What can we do to push these creatures back and keep your workers safe?” Saresh smiles slightly, “We need to level the playing field, so our security forces can do their job. Chief Trig has put together a plan…” Trig interrupts, “…A suicidal plan…” She glares at him, “…A bold plan to collapse the tunnels the Rakghouls are using to ambush our people. I know all of you are up for the task.” Trig sighs before walking over to a side table where there’s a holographic map, “Old ventilation shafts still connect a few hubs in the tunnel network to the surface. Drop explosives in enough of them, and the whole thing collapses.” Jessi states, “Havoc is at your command.” Kira and Tali share a glance as both nod, “A Jedi is prepared to face any danger, Governor.” Saresh grins when I nod as well, “Excellent, you each have a reputation for overcoming impossible odds. Live up to that reputation. Help us transform Taris into the future of the Republic,” she then walks back behind her desk. We take that as our dismissal bowing slightly in a sign of respect, Havoc saluting, before leaving. As we exit, we’re all surprised with the three speeders waiting for us, guarded by the trooper from earlier with the Pohs. He salutes sharply, “Master Jedi, Lieutenant Tae, Captain Tan. Your droids thought these speeders would help you complete your missions faster, I told them I’d deliver them to you.”

            “Thank you…” Jessi states, as the man snaps another salute, “Private Sakal, sir, ma’am, sir…” Jessi chuckles, “Ma’am is fine, Private. Has things always been like what we saw earlier?” Sakal nods, “Yes, ma’am. The others and I want to help but there’s nothing we can do and there’s too many refugees here to help them all.” Talia frowns, “I’m sorry, Sakal. We’ll try to help as best we can. Take some of the pressure off you and the others.” Sakal grins slightly, “You already are, master Jedi,” and with that, he salutes once last time before walking away, and we each enter our own speeders stopping by the refugees to pick up the list of items before continuing out of Olaris and into the resettlement zone. Thankfully, most of our tasks from the Poh’s estate to the refugee’s settlement to Saresh’s task to our own assignments are relatively close to each other, in fact, Vernan’s camp isn’t far from the settlement. We follow Havoc as they need something that is close to the booming city. We don’t wait long, however, and we continue to the refugees’ old settlement where we gather the items and deal with the scavengers. We quickly gather the items loading them into a speeder trailer that T7-01 places behind their speeder. Once that is complete, we head over the Poh’s estate where we see the reason they can’t enter, security droids… dozens of them patrolling the small property. We all share a look before trying to find the easiest path to the building, knowing that the droids may prove useful to the Poh siblings. What we find inside is saddening, dozens of aliens. Talia, Kira and I glance at each other feeling the fear, concern and the strongest: hope. I quickly gather that they’re refugees as well, from what I’m not certain as a tall female Togruta approaches us, “Hold,” she states simply, “We have no more with which to defend ourselves. You left us helpless before the Rakghouls and everything that haunts this planet.” Tali shakes her head, lowering the hood of her robes, “We didn’t remove them all.” The Togruta’s eyes widen slightly as she says, “Is that so, Alema Tann? I am Achitan, and my people are refugees, survivors of the battle on Coruscant. Would you turn us out of yet another home?” Tali shakes her head, “That was not our plan. We didn’t know you were even here,” finishing just as Corso says, “The owners have been waiting centuries to return here.”

            “So many men are here to reclaim this planet who know nothing of its past,” the Togruta states, scoffing slightly, “Ancient Taris was a blight on the Republic, the black mark on its reputation for freedom.” Both Tali and I grimace knowing what she is talking of as Corso frowns, “As far as I know, it was some Outer Rim nothing until the Empire blew it up.” She chuckles, darkly, “Your friends are not so in the dark as you. Which we can be thankful for as everyone else it seems is ignorant. Humans on Taris did as they do on all planets. They seized the surface, claimed Taris’ wealth and forced every other species underground. Every meter of this land owned by a human was probably seized from another species, just as this was seized from my ancestors,” Corso scoffs standing by my side and I glare at him as Achitan continues taking something from one of her refugees, “I have their documents, so old they were kept in printed form. Read them yourself if you doubt me.” Tali shakes her head, gingerly taking the documents, “I know the history and trust your story.” As she finishes, Kira glances at it, her eyes widening at the fragility of the documents asking, “What happened? There must have been a reason.” I grimace as Achitan chuckles darkly, “It was about money, of course. A human governor cut taxes to favor his people, and when others rebelled, they were the ones punished. I think the claim was ‘aliens are dangerous to Tarisian trade.’ If you have any sympathy for our cause, perhaps there is something you can do? We are alone and at the Republic’s mercy.” Tali glances at each member of our group before shaking her head, “We would not wish to see you turned away from your home again.” Achitan smiles, “I thank you for softening your heart to my story. We will begin the repairs to our droids and program them not to attack you.” With that, we turn and walk out of the estate, where we separate with a nod. I notice the Jedi run to a nearby building as Corso and I head to Doctor Vernan’s camp. When we enter the largest tent, we see an older man standing over a computer terminal, dictating a letter, “’Dear Adali, I regret that your husband was killed yesterday by Rakghouls. Please accept my condolences. Doctor Soylon was an excellent scientist.’ I’ve never composed a death notice before. How did that sound?” turning to address us. Corso, who’s standing slightly behind me jumps.

            “The ‘Dear Adali’ part was pretty good,” I state, slightly amused. “I thought a personal touch was warranted, under the circumstances,” Vernan says softly, “Ah! I recognize the symbols on that container! My bio-alarms have finally arrived. Good, good. If only this had arrived in time to save my associates. Not your fault, certainly. we knew the risk of studying Rakghouls.” I slightly whistle, “How did you manage to survive by yourself?” Vernan quirks his head, “I do seem to have beaten the odds. Perhaps there’s something about me these creatures don’t like. My colleagues and I were studying the Rakghouls’ behavior hoping to find a means of containing them. We can’t afford to let the Rakghouls impede our progress. The Republic’s rebuilding efforts on Taris are paramount to future prosperity.” I chuckle slightly, “You’re pretty fearless, for a scientist.” He chuckles, “Fear obstructs understanding. Besides, my prospects for survival have just improved. I’ve isolated an identifying element in the Rakghouls’ physiology, making it possible to detect and track their movements. The bio-alarms you brought will reveal how the creatures hunt—however, installing them will be a challenge with all my assistants’ dead.” I smirk, “If you’ve got the credits, doc, I’ve got the time.” Corso chuckles slightly as Vernan says, “Thanks to the Rakghouls, I have a budget surplus for staff expenses. You’re hired! Place a bio-alarm at each survey station we’ve established, and I’ll see you’re amply rewarded.” I smirk, “Consider me your new but temporary assistant.” He grins, “Come back when you’re done, and we’ll celebrate your success. Normally I’d ask for your next of kin’s holofrequency, but I’d rather maintain some optimism. Good luck!” I chuckle as we leave heading back to where our group split up. Havoc returns not much later and together we wait for the Jedi. Eventually, they join us and we all go deeper into the resettlement zone where Havoc has tasks, and the survey stations are. Thankfully the Jedi continue with us as Havoc separates, making installing the bio-alarms easier. Havoc rejoin us once I’m finished and we finally head to do Saresh’s task. Rakghouls spill out of the ventilation shafts once we’ve thrown the explosives, the Jedi trying their best to never let them near any of us. Once we’ve thrown three explosives into the tunnels, we hear a bloodcurdling roar. The ground shakes as whatever it is, runs towards us and we ready ourselves. We see it before we smell it, a massive Rakghoul the size of a small fighter, we share a nervous glance before the Jedi ignite their sabers and charge it. The others are successfully removing the beast's attention after they land a crippling blow, protecting them from any attack of the Rakghoul’s. After a tiring long fight, it finally falls nearly crushing them both underneath its body. Thankful we made it out unscathed, we make our way back to Olaris, with a short pitstop at Vernan’s camp.

            “Splendid work!” Vernan exclaims as we enter, “I’m already receiving data transmissions from the bio-alarms. You’ve done the Republic’s rebuilding effort a tremendous favor.” I chuckle, “Those Rakghouls’ were no trouble at all.” Vernan chuckles, “Thanks to you, the Republic’s reclamation teams will soon be saying the same thing. What you’ve done most definitely calls for generous compensation. Good show!” I chuckle, before frowning, “It seems dangerous to stay out here all alone.” He shakes his head, “I’m one hundred percent safer now with the bio-alarms in place. I’ll be fine,” he pauses as he grabs a couple credit chips, “Accept these credits with my extreme gratitude. I’ll begin collating my data. Thank you again for everything.” I sigh as we walk out and back to our speeder, my holo ringing. I have Corso drive as I answer it. “Hey, Captain,” the call says as the image solidifies, “How are things out there?” I smirk slightly, “Beautiful scenery, great weather, man-eating creatures trying to kill me. You should be here.” Beryl chuckles, “That’s the problem with running your own business. You always miss the good times. I finally located the other supplies you need to deliver. They were lost when Tyrodall got killed by the Rakghouls. A Republic patrol found the supplies with Tryodall’s remains. Dropped everything off at an outpost near the lake.” I frown, “What do you know about this lake? Is there swimming?” Beryl chuckles, “Only if you enjoy bathing in acid. All you have to do is swing by the outpost, grab the supplies and take them to an engineer named Ovold. Ovold will give you some planetary core samples to bring back to me. Got it?” I nod, “I got it. You’d better have that vault’s location when I get back.” She sighs, “I’m working on it, don’t you worry. Grab the supplies from the outpost, get them to Ovold and return to me with his core samples. Good luck.” By the time we’ve finished talking, we’re in Olaris. The Poh siblings find us first as we enter, with Private Sakal standing nearby. “Excellent job! We could smell the smoking metal corpses from here—” the brother states as he sees us approach. “I told him that’s not really possible—” his sister says interrupting him and earning herself a glare from her brother.

            “So, who are the crooks who set themselves up on our property?” the brother says, interrupting his sister, “Did you drive them off?” Talia looks exasperated, “No. Not exactly. Look at these papers. The aliens there have as good a claim as yours.” She hands the papers gently to the sister who seems to be more supportive of sharing. Her eyes widen as her brother scoffs, “The ‘alien resettlement’ was a valid executive order approved by the Republic. This is our land.” His sister glares at him, a tear in her eye, her voice reflecting her emotion and shock, “There are alien survivors who kept their claim? I’d thought they would never want to come back here. I—I studied the history. It wasn’t right.” Her brother scoffs, “It was justified! You can’t make us leave because of that.” Tali frowns, “It’ll take more than two people to turn this place civilized.” The sister nods, “I agree, Relus. This isn’t our ancestors’ estate. This is a frontier. We’ll need to grow food, sew clothes, defend ourselves. Wouldn’t it be better to all with these aliens?” Relus’ eyes widen, “Sew clothes?! Hmm… maybe we should just hear them out, see what they’re looking for.” His sister sighs gratefully, “We won’t turn them away. I know what it’s like to want a home,” with that Relus turns to walk away and his sister turns her attention to us, “Thank you, master Jedi. Relus might not say it, but my brother and I are grateful.” Her eyes widen once she realizes she never introduced herself, “I’m Jaymizu Poh. I can’t believe I forgot that. Thank you,” before she hurries to follow her brother who called for her. Private Sakal’s eyes follow them, “Hey, good job. Both on the droids and getting to the bottom of that mess. Taris politics, huh? Brass called me when you left. Wanted to see if your work’s as good as your rep.” Jessi frowns, no doubt wondering as I am what this reputation is we keep hearing of is, “Is there more to be done?” Private Sakal chuckles, “Well, I doubt he’s asking you over for a cup of mudleaf tea. Captain Childress calls, it usually means something needs fixing. If you’ll interested in helping, go look him up. His office is at Aurek HQ, other side of the base. Tell him, you’re the ones who ran off the brat brigade.”

            “Leisha! Vidas!” the young girl exclaims as we walk towards the refugee tents, “Everyone, they’re back!” Everyone quickly walks toward us, as one of the men asks, “Is everything okay? What did the scavengers take?” The girl glares at him as T7 and our speeder stops behind us, the trailer in tow. Everyone quickly clamors forcing the girl to yell, “Okay, calm down, people! Let’s deal with the possession first so those who want to can leave.” I chuckle at how much she sounds like a leader when she adds, “One at a time,” as everyone races to the trailer. Jessi, Kira, Tali, and I pass out the items as Corso, Jorgan, and T7 try to calm and organize the people. The five original refugees are last, and we each hand them their items as Tali says, “Hopefully, this will help you all start over.” The older woman, Leisha Vamden, nods, “We can only hope. Now… what do we have?” The older man, Semist Bada, says, “This is fabulous. Not a page lost.” The first man, Vidas Kawats, says “Yeah. I can’t wait to turn this on.” The young woman, “I have to show these to my mother. She’s been so worried… be right back!” then rushes inside the tent. “I think what she meant to say was ‘thank you,’ but,” Leisha states amusement coloring her voice, “She’s a little giddy. Don’t worry. None of us will forget your generosity.” Tali chuckles, “It’s completely understandable. Good luck.” They each nod and walk back inside the tent as the girl who started it all comes back out, running and hugging the Jedi Knight then everyone else, “Thank you so much. The light in Mother’s eyes came back when she saw the Nadu seeds. What can we do to thank you?!” Tali chuckles shaking her head, “Nothing. Well, there is something. Live happily.” The group nods before I say, “And keep in contact with us.” The girl’s eyes widen, “Really?! That’s all?! You don’t want credits?” Everyone shakes their head, “We don’t do this for credits…” I respond, earning a glance from Corso. The girl hugs each of us once more, “Thank you. We were all about to give up hope. It means a lot to have someone care about us, to do something for us. I’m Urana Kiel by the way, Mother will be furious to know I’ve forgotten my manners,” looking down at T7 who spins after giving her our information. We chuckle as we walk away heading to Saresh’s office before going to speak to Captain Childress in Waypoint Station Aurek.

            We walk in on another conversation, this one more of an argument, “…I don’t care what your plan is! We’re not sticking around to get eaten alive. Me and my crew are leaving—period.” We hear Saresh scoff, “If you want to abandon the work you agreed to do for the Republic, I can’t stop you. But you are not leaving. A six-month quarantine requirement has been put into effect. Anyone trying to leave without prior authorization is subject. You can sit in a medical bay and go broke, or you can help us accomplish something unprecedented. It’s your choice.” Jessi frowns, “You shouldn’t be so harsh, Governor. These men aren’t fighters.” Saresh glances at us, “We are what we choose to be. I know you’re going to make the right decision here, Hull. Come back when you do,” standing from her desk at the end. The tall Zabrak, Hull, shrugs causing Saresh to cross her arm and look at him pointedly. He sighs and turns to walk away, Saresh’s eyes following him, “Unfortunately, not everyone flourishes in the face of adversity. Scouting parties are already reporting lower Rakghoul populations. Most of our work crew are gearing up—we’re finally gonna get this project moving.” I frown, “There are still a lot of Rakghouls and wreckage out there.” Saresh chuckles, as she sits at her desk, “Obstacles exist to be overcome. My ancestors called Taris home, once. Thanks to you, millions of people might call it home again someday. Stay safe. And stay in touch.” We all nod, bowing in respect before we exit, and we head to the Waypoint Station. Aurek is located in the Sinking city, that’s where we will find the last of Beryl’s deliveries. “Hey, there. Captain Childress. I want to thank you for taking the time to see me. You all did nice work on the land claim mess. Like we flew this many troops to the armpit of the galaxy, so some kids could play pioneer. It’ll take way more than it’s worth to make this planet livable. Only thing interesting about Taris is that it’s the worst failure the Republic’s ever had.” Corso frowns, “I don’t know much about Taris history.” Childress chuckles, “Doesn’t surprise me. Way back when the Sith were searching for a Jedi here. When they couldn’t find her, they tried destroying the entire planet. The Jedi escaped, but millions of people died an ugly flaming death. The Empire tried the same thing on Coruscant in the last war. Three hundred years after Taris, we still don’t know squat about how to defend against a bombardment once ships are in low orbit.” We all nod as Jessi says, “Until we learn to defend ourselves, we’re at the Empire’s mercy.”

            “That’s why I’m here,” Childress states with a nod, “Learn what we can so we don’t repeat the mistakes. I sent commandos to defend a research team at the crash site of the  _Endar  Spire_,” my eyes widen as he continues, “The last Republic warship shot down over the planet. If we’re lucky, that ship recorded the whole bombardment. But my team’s lost contact… which means there are desk jockeys in the wild with the most valuable data on Taris.” Corso is once more the one who asks, “What’s this ship? Why’s it so valuable?” I glance at Tali rolling my eyes as Childress answers, “There were Jedi aboard, back in the day. Now, we hope it’s got data on the attackers. The crash site’s a ways, fast as you make it—I don’t know if we’ve got survivors. Research team’s your number two priority. Data’s the most important thing. Take anything the  _Endar  Spire_ recorded to Commander Viqui here at the outpost,” pointing above him to HQ. We nod then leave Havoc saluting him as we do. The group parts as we go to find our contact, an alien trooper. His back is to us, looking at a datapad, which he puts down as we approach. “You’re the Captain, yeah? I’m Sergeant Klewer. Risha says ‘hello.’ I hear you two are in business together. I’m going to square you with Republic Customs. Agent Soganti is watching your every move, but I can fix that.” I frown, crossing my arms, “I know a scam when I hear one.” He chuckles, “Give me some credit. If I was trying to trap you, would I be this blunt about it? Risha expressed some concern you might not be able to leave Taris with what you came here for—not unless Republic Customs lays off. I can give you temporary diplomatic immunity. Republic Customs won’t be allowed to search you or your starship.” I nod, “That sounds like just what I need.” Klewer nods, “The thing is, I need you to scratch my back while I scratch yours. We’ve got a problem with scavengers raiding our supply lines. I need you to convince the scavengers to relocate. When that’s done, you’ll be off Republic Customs’ radar. It’s a deal, yeah?” I nod, “Sure seems that way.” He nods, “The scavengers have been coming from these coordinates,” pausing as he hands me a datachip, “They probably have a camp there. Make life extra unpleasant for them. When you get back, I’ll have diplomatic credentials and the supplies you came for ready to go. Have fun out there, yeah?”

            When we regroup it’s near the medical tent, where we overhear a conversation of a Doctor it seems and a group of five individuals. The topic is one that doesn’t inspire hope, the Rakghoul plague. “As you can see by the data,” the Doctor states as the group looks at a holo screen and their own datapads, “there is no disease in known space that propagates as quickly as the Tarisian Rakghoul plague. Even one individual Rakghoul can start a pandemic, as we have observed in eighty-one colonies to date. Until a vaccine can be widely distributed, it is highly doubtful that any civilian colonization effort will yield lasting results. Thank you,” with that the group walks away talking amongst themselves and the Doctor turns to us as we’ve stopped a short distance from her and the dispersing group. “I didn’t know Rakghouls had gotten so many colonies,” Tali states as she approaches. “Rakghouls have been the story on Taris for three centuries. HoloNet archives say a Doctor Forn developed a ‘Rakghoul serum’ vaccine just hours before the bombardment. I’m Doctor Ianna Cel and I’ve been trying to acquire this serum, but short of putting a blaster to someone’s head, that’s not going to happen.” Jessi frowns, “What makes you say that?” She chuckles darkly, “There’s a pirate camp not far from here. They went after the ruins of Sepanik Memorial Hospital. Sepanik was well preserved. If there’s Rakghoul serum to be found, it’d be there. I asked Commander Viqui to step in, but since it wasn’t a Republic hospital, the pirates have legal salvage rights.” Tali frowns, “What is legal and what is right are often different. I’ll pay them a visit.” Her eyes widen, “That’s… that’s extremely brave of you! The Death’s Claw pirate gang robs anything that talks and shoots anything that doesn’t. I can’t say what will be required to get this done, but this plague has infected half a planet’s worth of people. So, if that serum shows up on my lab table, it’d be unethical to throw it away for any reason. I hope my position is clear,” we nod as the dispersed group walks back to her. We follow the Jedi and T7 as they head and mess with three relays that are all nearby the crashed _ Endar Spire_. Once we finish reactivating the second relay, we enter the _ Spire_ herself, remarkably well preserved given her age and the bombardment. There are scavengers inside, no doubt the ones who attacked the research team. Once we clear out the first floor, we’re surprised to see someone walk towards us, a male Human Republic trooper.

            “Lieutenant Karlsu,” he states saluting before groaning and holding his side, “I’m all that’s left of Commander Childress’ fifth detail. Please tell me you’re our reinforcements.” We all share a look before Jessi steps up, “Childress sent us. What cut you off?” He raises his hand, “Give me a moment.” We nod, and he turns looking back to where he emerged from, “All’s clear, guys. And we’ve got some muscle from back at base,” Three separate people emerge from hiding places, two male Humans and a female Rodian and he continues speaking to us, “This is what’s left of our research team. The others got ambushed while working. Scavengers must have guessed we were after something good. We need to hold them off long enough for the research team to recover and download that data.” The Rodian woman nods, “You’ll need to reactivate the generator subsystems as we go, so we can grab the data when we hit the main computer. We’ll follow you.” Beside me, Kira chuckles, “Now you’ll get to see how Jedi and Havoc handles things.” Karlsu’s eyes widen, as he turns to address the team, “Okay. Data’s priority one. Everyone into the ship. Go!” We turn and turn ahead of them, fighting the scavengers as we go with T7 reactivating the generators. Corso and I are at the rear protecting both the flank and the teams back as we carve a path to the main computer. We run all the way to the room that’s empty until we’re at the computer and several scavengers repeal from the ceiling blocking our only exit. They come in waves, three total, their leader partaking in the last. The Jedi aren’t attacking, instead simply blocking any blaster shot that may impact the team behind us hard at work, as Havoc, Karlsu, Corso, and I attack. “If you hadn’t come when you did, those would be our smoking corpses there,” Karlsu states once the leader falls, “No question. Unfortunately, we’re not done, not until this wreck’s data is in the hands of Commander Viqui.” Jessi glances at us, before saying, “Give me what you have, I’ll get it to the commander.” Karlsu grins, “Thank you. We’ve recovered all the high-priority info. If you’ll run that to the outpost, I’ll hold off what’s left of the scavengers until our reinforcements arrive.” The female Rodian nods, “Thank you for protecting us. And good luck.” We chuckle, Havoc and Karlsu saluting each other before we leave, now heading to the Death’s Claw pirates’ headquarters nearby.

            We easily spot it as there are pirates protecting it, immediately shooting at us as we come into their view. Apparently, Death’s Claw pirates don’t defend well against two Jedi, two Republic troopers, two smugglers and an astromech, as we easily slip inside the complex, removing all resistance, hoping this will help any rebuilding efforts. When we clear the complex, looting the bodies as we go, we make our way to the medbay where dozens of men lay groaning in agony. I wince in sympathy, seeing ghastly scratches and bites the men’s bodies that are deathly pale, knowing no one deserves a painful death. We skim thru the medicines lining the wall by the attending physician office, searching for the serum when we’re interrupted. “You picked the wrong medbay to rob, vac-brain! There’s gonna be two hundred Death’s Claw pirates coming through that door!” exclaiming an angry blue Twi’lek, pointing at the door we entered. “I was hoping we could resolve this peacefully,” Talia states, probably not wanting to admit we cleaned out the complex. “Uh-uh. You see these guys lying here? They’ve got the Rakghoul plague. You touch me, and they’ll be on you like Hutts on a buffet. Except, you know… faster. And don’t think they’re incapacitated. They just look that way. I’ve got a serum you wouldn’t believe.” I cross my arms smirking slightly, “We’d heard you dug something up. We’re going to need it.” The doctor nods, “Yeah, we’ve been using it to… wait. No, you don’t. You can’t take it! These people are infected! If you cut off my supply of serum, these guys are going to turn. You know what that means? I’m going to have to shoot them all in the head before they try to eat my liver.” Tali frowns, “You’re a doctor, right? Synthesize some more.” The Doctor scoffs, “With what? My state-of-the-art facilities? I can only use what I find, and we don’t find much. The only place I can think of that might have some left is the ruins of Dynamet General. The place was basically ghoul town. You want serum, you get it there and we us alone.” Tali sighs, looking at the men then at the doctor, and I know where we’re only next…. “We better not come to regret this.” The doctor shakes slightly, “No, the stuff is down there. I swear on my medical license. The real one,” with that he walks away. I groan, “Great more exploring,” as T7 chirps the coordinates of Dynamet General near the third tracking relay. Jessi frowns, “Jorgan and I need to continue deeper into the Sinking City ruins. You find the serum and we’ll meet you back at Waypoint Station Aurek.” I nod, “Same” My sister frowns but ends up nodding, “Just stay safe, okay?” Jessi chuckles, “We will, Tali. Chey’s got Corso and I’ve got a Dead-Eyes sniper watching my back.” Jorgan glances at her with that, his green eyes widening slightly with his surprise, as Tali smiles at him, “Good to know. Keep them safe,” finishing with a stare at Corso, who swallows. I roll my eyes as we all enter our speeders heading off in different directions.

            The scavengers camp isn’t too far away, and we easily make their life difficult; blowing up weapon caches, killing scavengers, etc. Fun stuff, really… in no time Corso and I are back on our speeder heading to Waypoint Station Aurek. We are the first of our group to arrive, so we decide to go inform Klewer of our endeavor. “I handled everything just like you wanted,” I state as we approach. “And Republic Custom thinks you have full diplomatic access to the planet. That’ll keep the heat off you,” Klewer states, turning to face us, “Here are the supplies Beryl Thorne needs delivered. Take them to the camp at these coordinates. They’re for an engineer named Ovold. Good luck on there, Captain. Try not to get dead.” I roll my eyes as he turns away and Corso places the supplies in our speeder. When that’s finished we head back to the front on the outpost to wait, as no one else is here yet. “So, how about that war, huh, Captain?” Corso asks, breaking the silence once we get somewhere slightly secluded. He continues, his eyes following some troopers, “You think the Republic’ll stop hiding behind the Treaty of Coruscant and admit they want the Empire wiped out? It doesn’t sit right, negotiating with people who want every man, woman, and kid dead.” I nearly groan, “Corso, you are generalizing. Not every Imperial is out to murder everyone!” Corso scoffs, “I joined the Peace Brigade when I was fourteen. I know what a world looks like when the Empire’s done with it.” I grit my teeth, “I hate the Empire I much as anyone, more maybe. Want to see it burn to ash until nothing’s left, but that doesn’t mean I hate the people. That I want them to suffer the same fate. Some are evil yes, others never had a choice, cowboy. Either they were born in the Empire or were forced to join it.” By the end of my rant like speech Corso is staring at me in awe, “I never knew you were passionate about anything other than credits, Captain.” I scoff halfheartedly, “You think spending a week with me means you know everything about me, cowboy?!” He chuckles, “Your right, I don’t but doesn’t mean I don’t want to get to know you. ‘Cause I’m coming along with you.” I sigh, rolling my shoulders, “Whatever you say. The way Skavak and Viidu talked, I thought you were fresh off the farm, peace brigade.” He chuckles, “Me and Skavak weren’t as close as he thought. And Viidu always thought of me as a wandering Akk pup. The Brigade’s a relief organization. Go into worlds abandoned by the Treaty of Coruscant, help people displaced by the Empire. I was a kid looking for an adventure. After two months… let’s just say there are no kids in war zones.” I frown, glancing over at him, seeing the faraway look in his eyes, I sigh then place my head on his shoulder as Havoc walks up. Jessi’s eyes flick between the two of us with a frown, her eyes questioning. I sigh, mouthing ‘Memories,’ and she nods in understanding. “So, no sign of the others yet?” I shake my head, wanting to bury it in Corso’s shoulder, but stop myself, my eyes widening, “You don’t think they got bit, do you?” Jessi shakes her head, “They’re Jedi.” That doesn’t stop me from rising and beginning to pace, Jessi just sighs pacing with me. We stay like that, pacing in front of the main entrance until we hear an approaching speeder. Both Jessi and I break into a run when Talia and Kira can barely exit the speeder. “You didn’t get scratched, did you?” I exclaim, worried. ‘// Talia + Kira = not injured // Fought many Rakghouls //’ T7 chirps as he launches himself out of the speeder, ‘// Turn in data and serum now? //’ spinning in a circle at the end, the Jedi chuckle. Doctor Lanna Cel sees us as we approach, raising a hand to excuse herself from the group. “Welcome back,” she states as she walks toward us, “Let’s get those serum samples analyzed and see what we’ve got,” pausing as Tali hands her the vials. She looks at them before putting them in an analyzer, “Well, thank the Force for good Tarisian storage technology. I wasn’t sure anything would still be viable after three centuries. While we wait… is there a cost to these samples I should be aware of? A deal with a pirate crew perhaps?” Tali shakes her head, “There was some unavoidable violence on the way in but this one is on the ghouls. We found it in Dynamet General.” Her eyes widen, “Seriously, wow. None of our recovery teams made it inside there to find it, I guess. Great work. Ah, here we are. Fortunately, the plague is so virulent, it cultures very rapidly. Hmm. Bad news. The serum you recovered looks like it was effective three hundred years ago, but the Rakghoul plague has mutated since then. This serum will only provide effective immunity for extraordinarily healthy individuals.” I sigh, “I’m sorry it didn’t happen as you hoped.” Jessi frowns, “Is there a way to improve it?”

            “Oh, I’m not giving up,” Ianna states beginning to pace, “Now I just need what we call a ‘lucky survivor,’ whose system has made antibodies to the modern plague. We haven’t had a survivor yet, for obvious reasons. But this serum might provide the link we need. If I infected an extraordinary individual protected by the serum, I could collect the antibodies and make an effective vaccine.” Jessi groans, “I’m troubled with the direction this is taking.” Both Talia and I glance at her then at Ianna who smirks slightly, “It’s not going to be just anyone. I need someone with proven recuperative powers. Someone who gets injured almost on a daily basis. Ideally, they would have survived stabbings, shootings, poison, infections… maybe all of the above. Or, barring that, someone with conscious control over their bodily processes. Such as a Jedi…” Tali closes her eyes, “Doctor… I don’t get a chance to save a billion lives every day, I’m in...” I interrupt, “Hold up. Tali, are you sure this is a good idea?” glancing at her, “You’re tired from getting the darn serum!” Then despite my better judgment, ah oh am I kidding it’s telling me to do it too, I walk up to Ianna, “I’ll take it too. You need to be sure, right? More tes—more individuals the better…” Jessi steps to my side, “Me too.” Jorgan gawks at her, “Lieutenant Tae are you sure this is wise. We’re after…” Jessi turns and glares at him, “I’m aware, Jorgan.” Corso is next to interrupt, “Captain…” is all he able to say before I glare at him, “Don’t you even start, Corso!” Kira sighs, “I’ll watch your back.” Tali nods as Ianna claps, “Well… and I had this whole speech ready… all right. We have a medical droid, CB-08-4, set up to observe Rakghouls in the field. He’ll be able to collect the antibodies and slow any complications. After I give you the serum, go out there and test it. Let the Rakghouls attack you, infect you, and see what happens.” Kira asks, “Are there any other medical facts we should know? How long can we wait before heading to CB-08-4? We have a time-sensitive mission.” Ianna frowns, “Normally I’d suggest right away, as any further injuries may have an effect on your healing capability. But it’s not my place to interfere with your business. The incubation period for the Rakghoul plague is normally six or more hours. Other than that, we know nothing. You’re doing the right thing. Now here’s your serum injection,” before she injects the three of us, “I hope the Force is with you because the science is stretched to the limit.”

            Surprisingly the injection site doesn’t hurt as we head up to HQ to turn it the data from the _ Endar Spire_. We find Viqui pretty quacking as her back is to us and everyone is giving her a wide berth. She sighs as we approach, “If you have any questions about military operations on—” she stops as she turns around, “My pardon, Jedi. I’m actually expecting one of your Order,” then her eyes land on Jessi and Jorgan with the badges, “Havoc Squad! You’re the ones who saved my team at the _ Endar Spire_!” Tali nods, “Everything from the primary computers is on here,” handing her the datachip her team gave us. “The data from the Endar Spire will be invaluable to the Republic’s war efforts. Lieutenant Karlsu tells me there’s close surveillance footage of the Imperial warships.” Tali glances at Jessi, Kira, and myself, “Our lives are dedicated to stopping the spread of the Sith.” Viqui nods, “As is mine. Thank you, each of you for your service. Republic intelligence has been waiting for this data since the bombardment fell.” With that, we are dismissed, and we head off to a slightly populated area of Rakghouls. Jessi, Tali and I tentatively head towards a couple of them, our weapons still securely in place as Corso and Jorgan have their blasters ready to shoot and kill the Rakghouls as soon as we each been scratched. Kira removing the surrounding ones. Thankfully not protecting ourselves works in our favor and we each get infected with a scratch. The Rakghouls, however, don’t have a victory as both get a hole through their heads. “Uh, I didn’t know the scratch would hurt so much,” I exclaim, holding my scratched arm that feels like it’s being crushed, caught on fire and stretched all at the same time. Corso gives me a worried look as we head back to the speeders, the three of us bandaging the wound before we head to the Brell Sediment where Ovold and CB-08-4 await. We pass the outpost heading straight to where Ovold’s camp should be, and we pull way to deliver his supplies. “Shhh… hold still. Big hungry beastie out there is watching us, about eight hundred meters away,” the orange Zabrak states, his back to us staring out over the yellow acid lake, “These Baktoid X-1 combat-goggles show me everything. I never take them off. Have to keep up my visual scanning for the beasties.” I grimace, “You never take those things off?” Corso moves slightly closer to me as Ovold answers, “Thought I had lost them, once. Bonded them to my skull with industrial adhesive. Now I’m always ready,” he pauses slightly as he turns to face us, his goggles gleaming in the Tarisian sun, “I’m Ovold, core-drilling engineer. Beryl sent a holo, told me you were coming. It’s about time. Scavengers raided the equipment stores three times last week. Took some good gear with them. Didn’t get my goggles, though.”

            “Beryl said you had something for me to take back,” I state, wanting to get away from this guy. “I used to until the scavengers raided the camp,”Ovold says, and I nearly growl, ”The scavengers ran off with those planetary core samples you came to get for Beryl. She can’t finish her contract without them. Need you to get them back.” I groan, “What would scavengers want with core samples?” Ovold shrugs, “They were grabbing everything in sight. They probably thought the pod was something valuable. Way I hear it, scavengers are pretty well organized. Got themselves a regular fortress. Real death trap.” I scoff, “If I had a credit for every death trap I’ve escaped, I wouldn’t need this job.” Ovold chuckles, “I know what you mean. You’re looking for a cargo pod marked ‘Taris core samples.’ Should be easy to pick out from everything else the scavengers stole. Speaking of which, I’ll pay extra for snatching the rest of my stolen gear. Need it to finish my work. Good luck out there…” with that he turns to stare out at the lake once more. I roll my eyes as I turn and walk back to the others and we continue. Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly given how everything seems to go, we’re all heading to the same place, large square collapsed building. We split up once inside, as normal, both the Jedi and Havoc going deeper into the destroyed building. Where we’re going, the scavengers’ fortress, is right underneath the wall we entered through. I nearly groan as we reach it, seeing a map of the facility on one of the interior walls, probably now a large maze with all its collapsed hallways and rooms. Thankfully once we head down the elevator, which surprisingly works, the level is holding up well. Though scavengers seem to multiply with every turn. With our blasters on silent, we clear a path, looting both the dead bodies and any stolen goods we see. I nearly growl when I can’t find Beryl’s cargo pod. Finally, I see it, behind a very irritated male Devaronian, “Why’d you have to go and kill everybody? Some of those guys were alright.” I scoff, “I’m here for the planetary core samples,” pointing at them for emphasis, “Hand them over.” The man chuckles, crossing his arms, “’Planetary core samples’… right. You work for Beryl Thorne, don’t you? That’s what I used to do. The name’s Tyrodall. I was helping Beryl smuggle artifacts off Taris disguised as core samples. Thought we’d get rich. Turns out, Beryl’s a soft touch. Instead of selling what we smuggle on the Imperial market, Berly gives the relics to descendants of Taris survivors for a tiny ‘finder’s fee,’ Ridiculous.”

            “There’s an Imperial market on Taris?” I ask, slightly in awe of Risha’s old friend. I breathe easy when Tyrodall shakes his head, “No, but high-ups in Imperial space pay big credits for Taris artifacts. They’re status symbols. I let Beryl think Rakghouls killed me and went into business with the scavengers. They had a bright idea to increase profits. Why sell a relic to the Imperials once when we can sell it a dozen times? These droids are making copies of the relics.” I whistle, slightly impressed, “These droids can forge counterfeits?” Tyrodall nods, “They can recreate a relic down to the last detail. The copies are flawless. Let’s be smart about this, I’ll give you a hefty payout and a cargo pod of counterfeit relics if you keep my operation quiet. You go home richer, Beryl gets some ‘relics’ to give away and I stay in business. What do you say?” I nearly roll my eyes, “I think she deserves better than to be cheated by you.” Tyrodall’s eyes narrow, “Oh, well. Guess we finish this the hard way. Droids! Code black!” I nearly groan, grabbing my blaster and shooting Tyrodall’s leg as he tries to run. Corso easily destroying the droids with a shot at an explosive barrel nearby. I walk closer to the injured Devaronian, holding my blaster to his head. He raises one hand, the other holding his wounded leg, “Please I don’t want to die!” Holding back an eye roll “Should’ve thought of that before you made people believe you’re dead. But don’t worry, I’ve got plans for you,” hitting him over the head. Once he’s down, I use the Force to remove certain memories that’ll in danger Beryl, like the fact she’s the one smuggling out relics, then put him in a deep sleep. Satisfied, I rise only to nearly fall over. Corso is at my side almost instantly, catching me, “Captain?” his voice somewhat panicked. “My head feels heavy, and my body like it’s made out of lead,” I don't know how much of it is intelligible, as my mouth seems to be filled with cotton. The last thing I know for certain is that Corso curses and picks me up bridal style, and I rest my head on his shoulder nuzzling into it before everything goes dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're on Taris, thankfully not for long. Still working on her next chapter though. So be patient with me, please.  
> ==========================  
> 1-5 | Ord Mantell  
> 6-8 | Coruscant  
> 9 | Interlude  
> 10-11 | Taris  
> 12-… | Nar Shaddaa  
> ==========================  
> Hope ya'll enjoy it and sorry for any mistakes.  
> Positive feedback is greatly appreciated!


	11. Check One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Underlined words are 'translated' into Basic [English]*  
> *See notes at the end of the chapter to learn the meanings of the superscript words*  
> *Underlined and italicized words are ship names*  
> ~ Happy Reading! ~

=-=-=-=-=-=

            The next thing I remember is opening my eyes, looking at a white nylon ceiling. I nearly jump as Corso’s head pops into my view. “Hold it there, Captain,” Corso states, placing his hands on either shoulder and pushing me back down on the hard cot. I narrow my eyes at him, “Let me go, Corso.” He huffs, “You’ve been unconscious for three hours, Captain. CB needs to check on you.” I almost roll my eyes until I hear a similar argument then I chuckle before seeing T7 exit the tent. Flicking my eyes to Corso, “Is Talia and Jessi here too?” Corso nods, “Yeah. Seems like you all collapsed.” My eyes widen, and I fight once more to sit up, Corso not letting me. A medical droid entering stops my fight, lifting the curtain that divides the three of us. “Ah, good. You are all awake. I’ve taken samples from each of you as your infections has progressed. I have transmitted the data to Doctor Cel and have informed her of your consciousness. She will holo soon with your results. While we wait there are some questions I should ask. Do you have any of the following symptom’s: dizziness, fever, shortness of breath or an inexhaustible hunger for sentient flesh?” It’s funny how fast Jorgan, Corso, and Kira move away from each of us remembering the cause of this medical visit. “I could go for a nerf-burger,” I state, smirking slightly at Corso, before nervously glancing at the droid, “That doesn’t count, right?” The others chuckle as the droid shakes its head and the holo rings, “Ah, here’s Doctor Cel,” answering the holo. “Good news,” Doctor Ianna Cel begins once her image solidifies, “Your antibody counts are off the charts. I’ll start work on a vaccine immediately. You are remarkably brave. Our progress has just jumped forward by years. While you recuperate, and I mean by sleeping, I’m going to transmit the usual secrecy agreements. Just use your thumbprint to sign on the sensor.”

            Jessi frowns, glancing at us for clues on what she’s talking about, before giving up and asking, “We’re not exactly clear on what you’re talking about.” Ianna doesn’t seem to be worried, “This is standard procedure when the Republic develops biotech with significant earnings potential. We develop the vaccine for Republic soldiers first, and when it’s proven, sell it to colonists. Until then, it’s under wraps. We don’t want the Exchange or the Sith funding some horrible operation with an underground version.” Jorgan and Corso frown, the Cathar speaking up as he glances at his CO, “Lives will be lost while this profit is being made.” Cel snorts, “Tell me something I don’t know,” she states grimly, “Every week we hear another Rakghoul horror story. But every colonist on the planet is going to want this vaccine. How do I tell my superiors we gave up that kind of money?” Jessi frowns, “An entire planet succumbed to this plague. Are you a doctor or a patent office?” Ianna’s eyes narrow: “I’m a doctor. And this cure will get made, even if I have to build the manufacturing plant or hand-synthesize every macrophage…” with that she disappears. We all look mildly worried until CB-08-4, “Well, I think she’s angry. But from past experience, may I say that usually motivates her. If it means anything coming from a droid, ma’am, congratulations on your research and also, your remarkable survival. Your companions are welcome to stay in the medical tent until morning as you recuperate. I’ll check on you in the morning.” All three of us grumble before nodding, and the curtain separating us closes as our companions leave to let us sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            The smell of food is what successfully wakes me. As I get up, I mentally curse whoever designed medical cots as they’re hard as rocks. Thankfully, it is morning as I can see the sunlight streaming into the tent. Corso isn’t anywhere around as I try to stretch out the kinks the cot gave me, so I mosey on out. I’m surprised at what we are having for breakfast, as I know soldiers off base like we are dine on ration bars and we’re having actual food. Not that I’m complaining, ration bars are like cardboard rocks, tasteless and hard. All of us are silent as we eat and after as we each try to refresh ourselves, as there are no showers. Then we separate into our three groups, the Jedi heading somewhere else and Havoc going back to Olaris, where we’ll be going after Corso and I speak to Ovold. He’s right where we last saw him, probably still staring at the same place. Ovold nods his head in greeting, “Hey, you got all the gear those scavengers stole. Turnabout’s fair play, right? Got those core samples too. That’ll make Beryl a happy lady. You should go see her right away.” I silently huff, crossing my arms, “These aren’t core samples, Ovold—and you know it.” His eyes would probably have widened with how brunt I am, but with the goggles, I can’t tell, “Sure, they are. That’s the cargo pod I put them in. Don’t tell me those scavengers dumped them out?”  I roll my eyes, “It’s alright, I’m not here to bust you.” Ovold shakes his head, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. That cargo pod had core samples inside before the scavengers stole it! If the pod has something else in it now, it’s got nothing to do with me.” I can’t help but chuckle, “Huh, you’re a pretty good liar—I think it’s the goggles.” He smirks, “That’s what the guys at the sabacc table used to say before they stopped letting me play with them. Have a real nice day, Captain.” I do a mock salute walking to our speeder. “You know I can’t tell if he was being serious or not,” Corso states as we go his eyes on the Zabrak. I shrug, “I think that’s the point, cowboy. Come on.” We’re silent on our trip until we reach Beryl’s warehouse. The woman herself is going through a crate, though she stops hearing us walk up, “I can count the number of times I’ve been truly impressed in my life, on one hand, Captain. Congratulations. You walking in with those core samples just got added to the list.” I glance at Corso before cutting straight to the point, “Why didn’t you tell me about your side business? I thought we were friends, Beryl.” Her eyes widen as they flick around the warehouse, “Guess there’s no point beating around the bantha anymore. How’d you find out what I’m really up to? What happened with the scavengers?” I cross my arms, “Turns out, Tyrodall faked his death by Rakghouls and joined the scavengers. He told me everything.” Beryl’s eyes go skyward as she huffs, “Figures. I never liked that guy. Where’s he now?” I smirk slightly, “He won’t be causing trouble.”  _But if I’m right will get you out of trouble…_  Beryl scoffs, mumbling, “Stupid Devaronian. He probably drew first. Sorry, I didn’t keep things on the up-and-up, but you’re working with Risha. I’ve got trust issues there. I don’t want these relics decorating some fat Senator’s bedroom. They’re going to the descendants of Taris survivors, where they belong.” My eyes widen, internally whistling, “You’ve got a real heart of gold, don’t you?” Thorne shrugs, “There’s more to life than profit. If people understood that, the galaxy would be a better place. Argo, take this cargo pod and stow it with the others.” The protocol droid turns around, “When will we finally leave this accursed swamp? The humidity makes my joints rust…” His mistress rolls her eyes as something beeps, “Hey, look at that—the Republic just updates my contract log as ‘complete.’ And right on time, my spaceport friend granted me access to the Republic sensor array. Let’s find us a vault.”

            “Tell me about this mysterious friend of yours,” I state, slightly smiling. Beryl looks at me with a smirk, “A lonely technician with a boring job. Didn’t take much to wrap him around my finger. Hmm… sensors are picking up the vault’s unique radiation signature. That’s good. A-Ah, there it is! Oh… your vault is in Zone Zero. That’s bad.” I subconsciously wince, “Give me all the details.” Thorne glances at me, “Zone Zero is no-man’s-land. When the Republic first got here, it sent a bunch of surveyors to map the region. One surveyor made it back alive. Said the place is overrun with things worse than Rakghouls. Nobody goes there.” I internally whisper a prayer, before crossing my arms, “If that’s where the vault is, that’s where I’m going.” Corso nods, though he grimaces and Throne nods, her eyes flicking between the two of us, “You’ll need serious hardware to crack that vault. Risha’s good at getting into places she isn’t supposed to. Maybe talk to her. It’s been interesting knowing you, Captain. Have fun out there.” I nod in farewell before heading to the spaceport to talk to Risha. Corso goes for a quick change as I go in search of our mysterious new crewmate, finding her in the cargo bay. Her back is to me as I enter, but somehow still knows I’m there as she breaks the silence without a backward glance, “Hope you got that vault’s location. I eavesdropped on Skavak and some mercenaries over an encrypted comm channel. They’re trying to beat us to the vault. Sounds like they’re closing in.” I internally groan, moving to her side, leaning against the console she’s working on, “Beryl says the vault is buried in a place called ‘Zone Zero.’ Any clue what kind of numbers I’ll be up against?” Risha smirks, “Then we’re not sunk yet. Unlike us, the mercenaries don’t have the vault’s exact coordinates. And there’s a lot less than there used to be. From want I overheard, Skavak’s men aren’t having much luck in their search for the vault. Something out there is eating those mercenaries alive. Literally.” I wince, “For once I’m glad Taris is a death trap.” Risha glances at me, slightly smiling, “The creatures are slowing the mercenaries down, but not enough. Get to the vault fast as you can, then open the lock with this Geonosian slicer module. It took me months to trade for this. Don’t lose it, understand?” I frown at the device she’s handing me, “If I march all the way to Zone Zero, and I’m still locked out of that vault… you’re fired.” She laughs, “Technology has come a long way since that vault was built. It’ll open. Good luck, partner. Hope I see you again soon.” I smirk, seeing Corso leaning against the wall outside the hold, “If I die, lock up before you leave.” Risha doesn’t even glance at me, “Not funny.” I laugh silently as I join Corso outside the hold with an appearing Syreena. She hugs me tightly, whispering, “I heard Skavak’s name. Be careful out there. I don’t want to lose either of you to him.” I nod, hugging her back just as tight before pulling away and walking out with Corso at my side. A groan nearly escapes as I see a familiar sight, our welcoming party.

            “Remember me? Agent Soganti with the Republic Customs Office,” the agent states, flashing his badge like I’d forget, “I have some questions about Beryl Thorne.” I stop a few feet in front of him, folding my arms, “What do you want to know, agent?” Corso glances at me as Soganti begins, “I suspect Thorne is smuggling relics, and I think I know how she’s doing it. What I lack is proof. I need someone to step forward and testify so I can arrest her. I’m looking for an honest citizen, Captain.” I slightly smirk, “Beryl’s a good person. She’s not doing anything wrong.” Agent Soganti frowns, “If I catch you covering for her… well, let’s not consider the ugly implications. I’m authorized to pay a generous sum for any lead resulting in an arrest.”  _He’s really trying here. Pulling out all the stops._ He continues, “Think about what’s best for you. Are you absolutely sure you don’t know anything about Beryl Thorne’s criminal activities?” I tilt my head, “Tyrodall is the real smuggler, Agent Soganti.” The agent’s eyes widen, “Thorne’s partner? What do you have to back up that accusation?” I cross my arms, “The crazy Devaronian confessed to it for one. He faked his death because Beryl was catching on and began working with the scavengers making copies of the relics. Started selling them to both sides, Imps and Republic.” Agent Soganti crosses his arms, suspicious, “Why would he tell you that?” I sigh, “He wanted me to keep quiet. Thought he’d sweeten the bargain by making me his new partner. I guess like you said I’m just too honest, I said no. He then tries to kill me. Failed obviously, but he’s still alive with your proof, agent.” He tilts his head, “If Tryodall was doing what you said. Sounds like I might be wrong about Thorne. Unfortunately, I’ll need to get him to verify your story.” I smirk, handing him the coords, “He’s at the scavenger base here. I hope he’s not too bad off and helps you, Agent Soganti. So, you know for sure that Beryl is innocent.” Agent Soganti snorts, “Nobody’s innocent. If I’ve learned anything in this job, it’s that. You’ve been very helpful, Captain. Goodbye. Let’s go, men. We have a smuggler to catch.” I smile as I see them head off, Corso glancing at me nervously, “Beryl needs to clear out of here. That agent won’t give up, especially when Tyrodall counters your story.” I glance at him, “Don’t worry, cowboy, he won’t. Neither he or I want her getting caught.” Corso frowns, shrugging off his confusion, “Good, neither do I. She’s one of the good guys. We should drop by her place on our way to Zone Zero. It’s the least we can do.” I nod in agreement and we head once more to Beryl’s warehouse. Her eyes widen as she sees us enter, “Didn’t expect to see you again. What’s the occasion, Captain?” I grimace, “Republic Customs is onto to you. I kept them off your back.” They widen even more with that, “You have the vault’s coordinates. You didn’t have to come to warn me, but you did. Where I come from, the best friends are the ones who lie for you. Guess you’re a better friend than I thought.” I smile slightly, “I’ll always be on your side, Beryl.” Beryl smiles, “Never thought I could count on anybody traveling with Risha. I want you to have this. Saved me more times than I can count. Hope it does the same for you,” finishing as she hands me a variety of med and Kolto packs. I take them, squeezing her hand, “I’m glad we’re parting as friends.” Beryl chuckles, “Risha doesn’t deserve a partner like you. Watch your back, alright? I’ll get off Taris while the getting’s good. I know Argo’s ready.” We both glance at the said droid as he nods, “You have no idea, Mistress Beryl.” We both chuckle before Beryl surprises me with a quick hug, “Thanks for everything, Captain.” I return it, “Cheyanne please.” She chuckles before correcting herself, “Cheyanne.”

            “So, how’d you end up out here, Captain?” Corso asks once we’ve reached our speeder, “Was there ever a time you wanted something more normal? A husband? Kids? Someone to take care of you?” I glance at him, “I still have my whole life ahead of me. I’m only 17… but yeah, someday. For now, though, I’m enjoying this.” He nods, “I don’t know, it’ll be hard to go back. I met a mercenary on Clak’dor Seven when I was in the brigade. He’d spent twenty years fighting for the Republic. I was sixteen, fresh off the ship. This guy gave me my first blaster.” I lift an eyebrow, teasing him, “I thought you, country boys, grow up shooting.” He chuckles, “I mean, sure, I’d handled a hunting rifle, but never anything aimed at people. This guy told me, ‘Gun’s just a tool. You use it to destroy, or you use it to protect against those who would destroy you.’” I glance at him, seeing the faraway look in his eye, “A good statement to live by, so you took it to heart.” His blue eyes meet mine, as he nods, “Made me think differently about guns. You can’t protect the people you love if you’re too afraid to get your hands dirty. I brought Torchy home, and my parents made me lock her up. Told me not to ‘wish away peace.’ I didn’t have her when the separatists came.” I wince, placing my hand over his and squeezing it, “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, Corso. But I know they’re proud of you.” Corso gives me a half smile, turning his hand over and squeezing mine before we both fall silent. Neither of us talks until our path crosses with that of Talia and Jessi in the Tularan Marsh. We coordinate, learning we’re all heading to what was Transport Station Five. We travel together, removing Rakghouls as we go. Inside the Transport station, we separate from the others who turn left as we go right. Now alone, I try to have us pass by as many Rakghouls as we can, not wanting to fight more than necessary. On our way, we run across the remains of what must be Skavak’s mercenaries. We’re nearly at the coordinates when we start running across alive mercenaries, who fire on sight. There must have been a lot because there is plenty to fight through to reach the vault. Luckily, when we reach the vault door, we see three remaining mercenaries. I smirk noticing that they haven’t even begun to cut through it.

            The largest mercenary hears our footsteps, and probably the blaster fire, “What the—? Who the—? How’d you—?” I cross my arms, smirking, “I see Skavak’s not big on hiring mercenaries who complete sentences.” His eyes narrow but doesn’t help himself much, “You’re just—I can’t believe—you’re not supposed to be here! We’ve been through ten kinds of pain getting to this vault. And not to watch you open it first.” He then pulls out his holo, “Skavak, you there?” waiting as a small Skavak appears, “You want to see this, boss. We’re at the vault, but we’re not alone.” Skavak’s head tilts before he turns and chuckles, “Too perfect. I love it when everything comes together like this. How’s life treating you, Captain? You enjoying my ship and all my stuff? What about two-faced Risha?” My eyes narrow, hearing ‘my ship,’ and I must fight a growl from entering my voice, “We’re doing great, thanks.” Skavak smirks, his eyes during his usual perusal, “I bet you girls stay up late—listening to music, talking about who you’ll marry when you grow up. Still, owe you for that mess on Coruscant. You have any idea the grief I’m taking, sweetheart? I could kill everybody who cracks a joke, but that’s a lot of work. So, why don’t you just die, already?” I lift an eyebrow, smirking slightly, “I’m ready to settle this when you are.” He grins, “Glad to hear you’re on board with the plan,” before turning to address the mercenary, “Roksur, I want you and the boys to spare no effort killing my friend. Make it as painful as possible.” Roksur smirks as the call ends, “You heard the boss! Fry this fool!” There is only him and two others left, so what any of them thought they’d do that the others could, alludes me. Once they fall, inevitable really, Corso and I loot them,  _it’s not like the Rakghouls need it._  Once that’s done, Corso watches my back as I use the slicer module on the door. As Risha promised, it works, and I begin raiding… searching for the astrogation chart. Once found, along with some other mementos, we start making our way out. Not running a crossed any of the others, we continue to Olaris and  _Lady_ _ Luck_.

            “You got the astrogation chart, didn’t you?” Risha states as I find her once more in the cargo hold. I lift an eyebrow, and she continues, “I can tell by the look on your face.” I frown slightly, “Did you ever doubt me? You wouldn’t believe how many things I had to kill.” Risha glances at me, mildly amused, “If I did, you’ve just made me a believer for life. It’s only Taris, no one will miss them. That astrogation chart belonged to an Exchange gangster named Davik Kang. Davik personally mapped dozens of hyperlanes between the Core and Outer Rim systems. He found shortcuts and hideouts all over the galaxy.” My eyes widen, “How’d you find out about this chart?” She smirks, “The same way I find out about everything: listening to the right people. Have you studied much galactic history, Captain? Interesting patterns emerge if you pay attention. Davik Kang’s criminal empire ended when this planet was destroyed. Nok Drayen’s empire was born when he destroyed a planet.” It’s that moment that both Corso and Syreena enter. “Nok Drayen destroyed a whole planet?” Corso asks in shock as Syreena whistles and I groan. “Technically, it was only a single settlement,” Risha states, slightly laughing, “Once upon a time, there was a pirate haven on the Outer Rim called Mandellia. Thousands of criminals lived there. One bright morning, Nok Drayen’s freighter dropped out of hyperspace over Mandellia. He demanded the pirates' surrender to him or die.” I wince, “Pirates aren’t known for surrendering.” Risha nods, “They weren’t afraid of a lone, lightly armed freighter. They thought Nok was crazy. When the Pirates sent their reply, Nok launched a single rocket at their settlement. The warhead was tipped with an Imperial nerve toxin. The entire settlement died in less than a minute.” Corso’s eyes widen, “Where did Nok get an Imperial warhead?” Risha and I share an exasperated glance before she answers, “He stole it, of course. He’d been looking for a way to take down Mandellia in one shot, and that was the perfect solution. That day at Mandellia, Nok Drayen went from being a low-rent smuggler to one of the richest criminals in the galaxy. Anyway, that’s how the legend goes. I should probably let you get back to work.” I side glance at Corso, “For such a foul-smelling planet, I sure had fun.” Risha chuckles, “Congratulations on a job well done. I signed on with the right spacer. At any rate, I’m ready to leave Taris. I’m sure we can find someplace more interesting to be.” I glance at her, “You’ve got a bad case of wanderlust, Risha.” She glances at me, shrugging, “Hey, it’s one of my best qualities.” I roll my eyes as I head out, “We’ll be here a while, Risha.” I hear her huff as I head to my quarters, and I smirk.  “Hey Captain, wait up,” Corso calls following behind with a hesitant Syreena. I sigh, turning around, “What Corso?!” Syreena chuckles as I continue, “And can whatever it is, wait until I have a shower…” Corso’s eyes widen, his mouth opens like a fish, opening, and closing. Syreena nods for him, after laughing behind her hand, “Of course, it can.” I nod, thankful, before continuing my walk.

            After a nice thorough shower, I change into an olive-green tank-top and a pair of blue jeans paired with tan ankle boots. Once I’m all put together, I walk out and go in search for Corso and Syreena. I find them in the galley, Syreena winkling up her nose when Corso pulls something out of the fridge. “Having problems?” I ask, smirking as I lean against the doorframe. Corso jumps and Syreena bursts into laughter which Cowboy glares at her for before glancing at me, “Hey Captain. Syreena was just saying there isn’t anything edible on this ship.” Syreena narrows her eyes at him, “That’s not what I said at all, Cor…” her sentence is cut short by a wince. I tilt my head walking closer to her, “Are you alright, Syreena?” She glances at me, nodding, “Yeah, sorry, I haven’t been feeling too good.” My eyes move to Corso who’s frowning at her, then they flick back to the woman in question, “For how long?” Her eyes close, “Since before we left Ord Mantell.” Mine widen as Corso exclaims, “Why didn’t you say something sooner?!” I roll my eyes at him as she glares, “I’m not your or Chey’s responsibility.” I frown, moving even closer, placing a hand on her forehead before she bats it away. Corso huffs, “You’re my family, Sy.” Syreena sighs, “I know,” then pauses glancing at me, “We should celebrate your success, Chey!” I chuckle, “Later… I need to do some spring cleaning.” Corso glances at me, “It really unnerved you hearing Skavak refer that this is his, didn’t it?” I flinch as Syreena’s eyes widen, “You ran into Skavak?” I sigh, “It did, Corso. And no Syreena, only his mercenaries and a holo Skavak.” Syreena sighs, “Good. I want to be as far from him as possible right now.” I smile at her sadly before walking out. First order of business: remove Skavak from everything. It seems that removing Skavak’s touch is easier said than done, as I stare at the boxes filled with just Skavak’s clothes. Some of his items, dare I say it knick-knacks, are either bolted down or glued and as of now, I don’t have the tools to deal with that. Thankfully though, I find crates in the cargo hold filled with my items as while as those of Braden’s I kept aboard. So, I spend the next hour or so, replacing his things with mine all over the ship. Then stuff his into the crate he kept mine in. Grinning to myself, I move onto the next order of business the bridge holo. That I quickly give up, learning he shot the console. Grumbling, I add that to the ever-growing list of things Skavak owes me for. Risha finds me glaring at the said console, “Problems, Cheyanne?” I glance at her, seeing she’s laughing, and I huff, “Yes, seeing the mess Skavak made of my ship.” She winces, “Sorry. I’ve been noticing some things have been added around… Your doing?” I nod, “Yep. It’s starting to look how it did before Skavak.” Risha nods, “Looks better in my opinion.” I chuckle, “Thanks Risha. I gotta ask something though…” The red-head lifts an eyebrow, “Oh?” I stand recovering the console, “You and Beryl… She seems to think you’ll turn on me.” She winces minutely, “She’s bitter about something that happened a long time ago. Forget about her.” I frown, “I’d like to trust you, but right now I’m not sure I should.” Risha sighs, “A few years ago, Beryl and I robbed an Imperial treasury station. The heist went bad. I escaped, Beryl didn’t. She blames me for not rescuing her from the Imperials.” I whistle, “Is there a reason you left her to rot?” She shrugs, “I was saving my own skin. I don’t apologize for that. Regardless, I don’t work with walking liabilities, anymore. That’s why I’m with you. Now we are celebrating, right?” My eyes widen, and she laughs, “Syreena told me. Thinks you’re going to back out.” I scoff, “I never back out of a party.” She smirks, “Noted, now come on.” I huff but follow out of the bridge, grabbing a tan short-sleeve jacket from my quarters as Risha goes to find the others.

            After shopping, mostly by me, we end up at the only cantina in Olaris, filled with soldiers trying to relax. We find a table where we all order a drink before I pull Syreena and Risha on the dance floor. Corso never joins us, probably too busy either staring or glaring any of the men away. Not that it’s needed as Risha does that well enough herself. I’m sure we all lose track of time, just losing ourselves to the music. I’m only pulled back to reality when I see Syreena nearly fall. I manage to catch her, noticing how peaked she looks. In no time Corso is there, yelling at me for being careless with Syreena’s health, blaming me for her current state. I fight the urge to yell at him, my anger rising with every missaid word as he picks her up bridal style. I realize I’m growling slightly when Risha moves to the bar, and I walk to our booth, surprised to find Talia and Kira there. Sitting down next to Tali, I put my forehead on her shoulder, trying to use the peace the surrounds her to calm down. Once that starts working, I feel Talia reach out to our bond,  _‘What’s wrong?’_  I sigh, thankful to have this conversation private,  _‘Syreena’s hasn’t been feeling good. Apparently, I ‘overworked’ her.’_  My sister’s head nuzzles mine,  _‘I’m sure Corso knows you care about her.’_  I sigh deeper,  _‘I’m the one who got her off Mantell. I’ve protected her more than he has since we met.’_  With that said she wraps an arm around me as feel Risha come toward us from the bar. I lift my head up when she hands me a drink, drinking it quickly. Talia seems to get lost in her own thoughts, very dark and upsetting thoughts as I can feel her emotions. When I glance at her questioningly she sighs, turning to her Padawan, “Kira, why don’t you and Risha go pick up some supplies?” Kira tilts her head and both Risha and I frown. My curiosity having me turn to Risha, “It’ll give you a chance to get to know each other. Besides Nar Shaddaa is known to be pricey.” Risha crosses her arms before huffing, “Come on, Jedi. I get that we aren’t wanted,” Kira frowns. As both leave, we hear, “My name is Kira, not Jedi. Thank you.” Tali and I chuckle before she motions for me to follow. We’re silent and my curiosity grows as we reached an empty section, right underneath the ruins of an old skyscraper. Talia sits down on a horizontal piece of durasteel, patting the spot next to her. Now more worried about the dark expression on her, I try to joke, “Either you’ve taken me out here to kill me or you got something bad to tell me. Either way, you’re freaking me out, Tali.”

            The Jedi snorts, “I’m not going to kill you, sis,” there’s a short pause like she’s readying herself for something, “But I do have something to tell you.” My nervousness growing as I feel hers, so I sit next to her, grabbing her hands to reassure us both, “What is it?” Tali breathes in deeply, “I don’t know where to start actually.” I shuffle, my nerves getting the better of me not liking her broken tone, “You’re making me nervous, Tali. Just say it.” Her eyes close, “Do you know where Thea found Allura?” I freeze, my blood running colder, “I haven’t thought about it. But I take it, it’s bad.” Talia nods, “Korriban, Thea found her on Korriban.” I feel my eyes widen, “Luna’s a Sith?” The Jedi Knight looks away, looking at the destroyed landscape, “An apprentice now, was an acolyte when she was found. Before that she was…” her sentence cuts off. My eyes flick to her immediately, seeing her slightly shaking, “She was what before, Tali.” She shakes her head, turning her face away from me as her voice breaks, “I can’t…” Alarmed, and now truly fearful, I turn my oldest sister’s head, so I can see the tears that are now falling,  _‘Please, just say it.’_  She tries in vain to break away, to hide, but the Force is strengthening it,  _‘Tali!? Tell me what is hurting you…’_  A shake racks her body,  _‘It’ll break you.’_  My heart breaks and plummets hearing how truly broken she sounds,  _‘I don’t care, Tali. It’s already breaking you.’_  I hold my breath as she’s silent, but I feel her strength grow,  _‘She was a slave, Chey.’_  My world shatters, my vision darkens, my mind screaming ‘No. It can’t be true,’ repeatedly. I can barely hear her apologies she’s whispering as she holds us both together, as I break. I’m hardly aware that the Tarisian sun is looming over the horizon when I ask, “Does everyone else know?” I feel Tali nod, pulling me in tighter, “Mom and Dad learned on our last day on Coruscant. Mom is the one who told me, while Thea knew the moment she met Luna and Jai found out on Kaas. I wanted to tell you on the way here, but I didn’t know how to approach you.” When I pull away, Talia’s face turns pained as her arms fall limply, “I’m sorry for not telling you sooner… I didn’t want to add to you missing Darmas. How are you doing with that?” I grimace internally, knowing I can’t be angry with her when it’s hurting her too. “I’ve tried not to think about him,” I say, shrugging, “missing him. Stars, I don’t even know him that well and I feel broken just from leaving him. Then add Reki to that, and I feel horrible. What is wrong with me, Tali?!” Tali sighs, pulling me back into her arms, “You are a romantic, Chey. Nothing wrong with that.” My laugh is bitter, “I fall for men that I’ll never see again or,” I pause thinking of my attraction to Skavak, “for bad guys who should never be trusted.” Her laugh is airy, warm, “Then see them again. I don’t necessarily know what to say about the bad guys, you do have a type after all.” My eyes narrow as I pull away to shove her playfully, making her laugh again. I huff, internally grinning, knowing I’ll have to deal with certain information later, right now just enjoying being able to tease my sister. “So, talking about seeing someone you’ve fallen for again…” I smirk when she groans, “Not you too.” I lift an eyebrow, “Kira?” She nods, and I grin, “Great minds think alike.”

            “So, Theron…” continuing one, laughing when Talia huffs, “Can we do later it's getting dark.” I roll my eyes before looking around at the, indeed, darkening Tarisian skyline and flinching, mumbling ‘stupid Rakghouls.’ Talia apparently hears that as she breaks into laughter as we walk back to the spaceport. We head to Talia’s ship, not wanting to think about the man who stole it and the changed décor. Apparently, Tali thinks that I’m trying to avoid Corso, which I’ll admit is another part of it.  _But I won’t give her that._  “I am not avoiding him,” slightly annoyed that she smirks, so I add, “I just prefer to tease my sister in private.” That has her grumbling to herself, I grin in triumph. I whistle when we enter her hanger, “It’s definitely a beautiful ship, Tali. What did you name it again?” I glance at her, “ _Unity_ _.” My nose wrinkles, “Really? So, Jedi-y…” Tali rolls her eyes, “Well, in case you didn’t know I am a Jedi…” I make sure she sees my own eye roll as she walks up the ramp to the blue and white ship, Unity, “Oh, don’t I know it.” I whistle again inside, liking the newness of Talia’s rather bare ship. My whistle must have alerted Tali’s gold protocol droid of my presence has he scurries closer, “Apologies miss but this ship is private. I must respectfully ask you to leave.” Talia laughs slightly behind me, “It’s okay, _Enntoo, this is my sister, Cheyanne.” C2-N2 turns to look at her, “My utmost apologies, mistress. Is there anything I can get either of you?” Tali shakes her head, “No thank you, Enntoo. Is Kira in?” ‘// Kira = not here // T7 go look for her? //’ T7 beeps rolling up a ramp beside us. The Knight chuckles, shaking her head, “You don’t have to, Teeseven. I was wondering how many I’d have to cook for…” I clap, “I’m so glad we’re not at my ship!” Talia laughs just as my holo chirps, and I frown. I answer with a huff and the Mantellian appears. “Hey, Captain. Risha and Kira came to the ship, said that you and Talia went off on your own. Was wondering where you wandered off too and if you both are safe… It’s getting dark.” I glance at my silently laughing sister, “I’m fine, cowboy, on Tali’s ship.” Talia chuckles aloud, stepping into the frame, “I’m making dinner if you’re hungry, just be sure to tell the others.” Corso grins, “I’ll be sure to tell them. Is Havoc joining?” I frown, “I’ll ask Jessi. I haven’t seen her since we left the transport station.” Corso nods, “Alright we’ll be awhile. Syreena is craving sweets, so I’m out hunting for it.” We both laugh at that as he disappears.

            “You’re not getting away from our talk, sis. So, spill,” I begin as we head to the galley, after a small tour. Talia looks at me from the corner of her eye as I type out a short message to Jessi about dinner, “Do we have to talk about this…” I nod, “Yep. My duty as little sister, besides I’m curious. He’s the first guys you’ve shown an interest in, well besides that guy in your Jedi Initiate group.” My sister glares at me, “I’ve had crushes since then, thank you…” I snort at her hurt tone, “You did, but you never kissed any except for him and Theron. If I remember right you almost ‘left’ the Order for him, because you were sent to two different planets.” She winces as I’ve touched a sore spot, “He told me I was worth more than that.” I nod, “He was right, you are but he was cute. My heart broke with you. Theron, though, is something else.” Tali sighs almost longingly as she nods, gathering together our meal, “Do you know who he is?” My eyebrows knit together as I grab a soda, “Who he is?! I know he’s an SIS Agent.” I nearly laugh as her eyes widen, “What?! Kira told me! It makes sense though that he’s a spy boy,” grinning at the end. Tali’s eyes roll, “He’s more than that, Chey. He’s Satele’s son.” I choke, my drink going everywhere, “He’s what?! Stars, your taste…” Tali throws something at me, glaring, “Hush. Believe me, I know. Both Mom and Satele already know. Apparently, he has the same tells as his father.” I chuckle, “That won’t make anything awkward when you go to Tython.” She groans, and I giggle, “So are you going to see him again?” The Knight shrugs, “Probably, we are working together,” she pauses, “He’ll be on Nar Shaddaa, probably. His partner is there.” I grin, “Perfect!” groaning when my datapad dings. I frown, “It’s a message from Jess, says Havoc won’t be joining, Team building…” Tali snorts, “Bet Jorgan’s loving that.” I chuckle, nodding in agreement as the galley door opens and Risha, Syreena and Kira enter. Syreena’s eyes widen moving to the counter closest to our cook, smelling the air just as Corso enters. He laughs, shaking his head as he goes to her side, putting an arm around her shoulders, “You just ate, Sy. You can’t still be hungry.” All of us hold back our laughter or try to, anyway, as Syreena punches him in the side. “Ow,” Corso exclaims, pouting, “At least you haven’t lost your strength. I forgot how much you hurt.” Syreena smirks, “Don’t forget this time, Cor.” We all laugh at her glare as Corso continues pouting until the meal is finished. Risha whistles after we’ve finished, “No wonder you wanted to head over, Jedi. Her cooking is amazing.” I snicker, seeing Kira knock her shoulder into Risha’s. My sister and I share a glance, mouthing, ‘Jedi.’ “So, what are you going to call me, if Kira’s Jedi?” Tali asks, clearly amused. Risha tilts her head, “Hmmm… how about Boss…”

            “Hey,” I exclaim, “What about me?” Kira and Risha glance at each other, before saying as one, “Captain.” I groan, “Please no.” Risha smirks, “But don’t worry. We’ll not call you that all the time, Captain.” With that, I stand, hitting her on the back of the head, teasingly, “It better be never.” Corso’s eyes flick to me, “Why don’t you like being called Captain?” I glance at Talia, who knows my reason, “It’s okay from people who don’t know me. Actually, I happen to like it sometimes. But I prefer my name especially on  _Lady_   _Luck_.” Corso frowns, “Why?” I grimace, hoping he’d not go there, “Because I’m not her Captain.” Everyone frowns, minus my sympathetic sister. “What do you mean?” Syreena asks at the same time Corso says, “Of course you are.” Both fall silent as I shake my head, “To all of you, maybe. But not to me. The true Captain is Braden. Excuse me,” as I stand and leave. I silently curse myself for not thanking or hugging Talia, but right now I have too many thoughts, too many things I have to deal with. Back on  _Lady_ _ Luck_, I head straight to my quarters, taking everything off and putting on a loose comfortable shirt that reaches my mid-thigh. Then I fall back into my bed with a groan, bouncing a few times. After realizing, sensing that no one else is on board, I get back up my bare feet padding on the metal floor as I go to the galley. I smile to myself remembering…

_ =~=-~-=~=-~-=~= _

_             “Hey kiddo,” echoes a familiar voice off the walls of my room. I borrow farther into my hiding place, underneath my blankets that suddenly get pushed away. Uncle Braden is smiling down at me, before the tickling starts. I squirm, trying hard not to laugh as that’s his entire goal right now. He stops though when the right side of my face hits the pillow. Tears gather in my tears as the memory resurfaces, and Braden picks me up, wrapping me securely in his arms. “I heard what happened, Ladybug. It’s okay to cry,” he softly says, rubbing underneath the new cybernetic around my right eye. “You were so brave, so very brave…” he continues but I can hear the pain in his voice. He picks my head up, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, “And you know what brave little girl’s get!” My eyes light up, “Ice cream!” Braden hushes me, “Only if they are quiet.” I nod, and he chuckles, “We’re going to have to sneak out of here. So, silence is key.” I grin and together we ‘sneak’ out to Lady Luck, both with bare feet for sneakiness. Uncle Braden brings me to the galley where he picks me up, so we can place our thumbs on the handle of the freezer, which unlocks Braden’s secret stash of ice cream. Quiet as mice we head to Braden’s captain quarters where we eat and play until Mom comes and gets me. _

_ =~=-~-=~=-~-=~= _

            I chuckle as I do the same thing now, grateful that Skavak nor anyone else learned about the secret stash of ice cream. I grab a quart of rocky road, mine and Braden’s favorite, then head back to my quarters. I’ve just started eating, sitting cross-legged on my bed when I hear a holo ringing. I glance at mine on the bedside table, confused as there’s no incoming call and it’s the wrong tone for the ship. Glancing around, I locate the infernal device that’s in my bag. Using the Force, I bring it to me, wondering where I got a second holo-comm from before remembering the mercenaries. When I answer, the caller begins immediately, not waiting for a visual. “I thought I told you guys to update me on your progress! It can’t take that long to kill my friend and get into the vault…” the last sentence cuts off as my image solidifies on his side, “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!” I smirk, “Hi, there Skavak. Having a bad day?” His eyes narrow, “How are you alive!? Those were the best mercs money can buy…” I chuckle, ice cream momentarily forgotten, “I’m just that good.” He smirks, his eyes taking me in, “I don’t doubt it, sweetheart. Is that my shirt?” I nod, “It is. Thought you wouldn’t be needing it. That and it's very comfortable.” He chuckles, “You look good in it. Probably would look better out of it. But don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll get everything back soon. Maybe if you’re lucky it’ll include you.” With that, the call ends, and I decide to keep the holo close by, sticking it in a secret compartment in my bedside table. Then I return to my ice cream.

            When I’ve nearly finished there’s a knock on my door. Sighing, I get up, placing my ice cream on the bedside table. I open it a crack, only to see my disturber, Corso. He flinches when he sees me, nervously rubbing the back of his neck, “Hey Capt… Hey Cheyanne, can I come in?” I huff silently, letting the door open fully as I walk back to my bed. Corso swallows as he sees the edge of the shirt rise on my thighs, and he clears his throat, “I just wanted to apologize. Talia told me who he was… and I’m sorry for not noticing you’re in pain.” I sigh, finishing up my ice cream, “It’s okay, Corso. Usually, I don’t mind being called Captain, normally I love it. But Braden’s death and losing his ship on the same day. It destroys that, having a reminder I failed him.” He frowns, “You haven’t failed him.” I scoff, “I lost his ship, cowboy. I promised him I’d always take care of it and I lost it to a man I was told, repeatedly mind, not to trust! The Jackal of the Stars! I failed him in so many ways. And now I’ve learned my failure nearly broke…” I cut off abruptly.  _Don’t say any more, Chey. You’ve said enough…_  Corso frowns, “I don’t think any of that is failure. Stars, I trusted Skavak! He was my friend, or at least I thought so. Now, what was that last one, that you cut off…” I shake my head, “Nothing. It was nothing…” His eyebrows knit together but thankfully there’s another knock on the door. I sneakily use the Force to open it, revealing Syreena. She hides something behind her back, “Um Corso, can I talk to Chey alone…?” I tilt my head as Corso rises from my bed, where he had sat down, his expression unchanging, “I guess so. I’m heading to bed, so I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight.” Syreena and I both say, “Goodnight,” as Syreena basically changes positions with Corso, keeping whatever, she’s holding out of our sight. Corso’s head is tilted when the door shuts and Syreena sits on the bed, where Corso just was. “What’s wrong?” I ask, slightly concerned as it looks like she’s been crying. She sniffles, confirming my assumption, “I think I’m…” a sob breaks her sentence, so she just places a hand-sized object between us.

            I frown picking it up, my eyes widening reading it, “Who’s would it be, Syreena?” She sobs again, “I don’t know.” I wince hugging her, “You haven’t done the scan yet, have you?” Syreena shakes her head, “No. Too scared…” I nod, before raising the special med scanner, “You want me to do it? We have to be sure right?” She nods, and I start the scan, having her prick her finger when it’s done. The results don’t take long, and I breathe in deeply. “So?” Syreena says fearfully. I glance at her handing the scanner. Her eyes widen before she breaks into sobs and I hold her tightly. “Are those happy tears or sad ones?” I ask when she’s calmed down. “Happy ones,” she says between sobs. My arms tighten, “We should check who’s…” She nods, “Alright.” I nod, starting another scan this one checking DNA. It makes a happy ding, a positive DNA match and Syreena cries harder, her hand falling to her stomach. I smile at her sadly, “We should tell Corso. He’ll want to know.” Syreena smiles, “He’ll be an amazing uncle.” I chuckle, “You stay here, and I’ll get him. Okay?” With her nod, I go find Corso, in the lower crew quarters the girls taking the top floor’s. I swallow as I enter seeing a very shirtless Corso laying on the lower bunk staring up. I cough, and he jumps slightly, nearly hitting his head. When he sees me, he scrambles to stand, “Uh, hi Capt… Cheyanne. You needed something.” I clear my throat, my eyes avoiding staring at his defined chest, “Yes. Syreena wanted to tell you something.” He lifts an eyebrow, smirking, amused that I’m successfully looking anywhere but him, “Oh. And it so important it has to be now?” I shrug, “I didn’t want her chickening out…” Corso chuckles, “Ah well in that case, I’ll go walk to her. Where is she?” I swallow, mumbling “My quarters.” He chuckles again, “What was that, Captain?” I groan, “She’s in my quarters.” His infuriating smirk returns, “Ah-uh. Sure, she is.” I roll my eyes, grabbing his hand, impatient, and he chuckles, “Come on, cowboy, before she falls asleep.” She has indeed fallen asleep but to Corso’s amusement and my chagrin. I huff silently as he walks toward her, laying comfortably on my bed. He moves to pick her up and the scanner falls unto the floor, stopping him. I watch him lean down and pick it up, turning it on in the process. His eyes widen comically, and he turns to me, “Who’s?”

            “Viidu’s,” I answer with a smile. Corso’s back hits the wall as he staggers back, “She was just telling us that she wanted a part of Viidu with her always.” I chuckle softly, “Now she’ll have his child.” He grins, “Thank you for this…” he glances at me then back at Syreena, a soft loving expression on his face as he moves to pick her up again. I follow him done the hall, waiting outside as he puts her in bed. When he returns, he’s still smiling. He surprises me by hugging me tightly and realize just how short I am to him as I return it. After the hug breaks, I smile up at him, before going on my tip toes to kiss his cheek, whispering, “Goodnight, Corso.” He smirks slightly and as I go to walk away he pulls me back, kissing my forehead, “You’ll always be my Captain. Goodnight, Cheyanne.” I blush slightly as I successfully move away, smiling softly all the way to my quarters. As I get ready for bed, the smile hasn’t left even as I climb into bed.  _Maybe being a romantic, isn’t so bad. Especially if it leads me to a man who will love me completely._  I sigh happily, feeling Talia say  _‘I love you’_ to the family.  _Definitely not bad being a romantic._   _‘I love all of you. Goodnight…’_  And I fall asleep feeling overwhelmingly loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How many of you knew what I was hinting at? lol, but yes Syreena is pregnant, Viidu will not be forgotten. There will be children in this series, family is a major part of this legacy if you haven't noticed, lol. I wanted to put a more emotional touch to Chey's storyline, as well as adding some uncle niece bonding. Because Braden will not be forgotten either. I wanted to add a little private conversation between Chey and Skavak, allude to a possibility of romance...  
> :) Hope you have a happy Friday the 13th! Next is Nar Shaddaa!  
> I do have a question for all of you... Do you like the two chapters per planet? Or would one long chapter be better?   
> ==========================  
> 1-8 | Prologue  
> 9 | Interlude  
> 10-17 | Chapter One  
> 18-24 | Chapter Two  
> 25-31 | Chapter Three  
> 32-33 | Ilum  
> ==========================  
> Thanks for reading! Hope ya'll enjoy it and sorry for any mistakes. Positive feedback is greatly appreciated!


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